


Catharsis

by NyanBerri



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - The Caligula Effect, Autistic Marufuji Shou | Syrus Truesdale, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Is the Fuck word mild?, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Idolshipping, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Stabbing, Suicidal Thoughts, Supernatural Elements, Torture, Trauma, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 74,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24250867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyanBerri/pseuds/NyanBerri
Summary: Mobius - a pocket dimension created for the sake of recovery and rehabilitation for those left scarred by their trauma. When someone is suffering so deeply that they wish to die, Mobius opens its door to them. They live a student's life in Kishimai High School and never age until they are free of their suffering and ready to return home.Judai Yuki is the newest citizen of Mobius. He doesn't know how or why he arrived in Mobius and immediately wants to leave. Upon confronting those believed to be in charge of Mobius, he learns of the existence of a painful event in his past that he can't remember. Judai is given the choice to return to the real world, or stay in Mobius. Not knowing what to do, Judai takes the time to learn about Mobius and get to know the world around him. Little does he know his appearance has set off a chain reaction that could corrupt Mobius and prevent him from going home forever.(The Caligula Effect!AU. Heavy mentions of suicide and traumatic events that everyone has gone through so please be aware of that before making the decision to read or not.)
Relationships: Marufuji Shou | Syrus Truesdale/Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki
Comments: 23
Kudos: 26





	1. Welcome to Kishimai High

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, starting another new mulitchap again... Might as well since I'm hyperfixating I guess.
> 
> Anyway! Please do heed my warnings! There is serious talk of suicide and suicidal thoughts and potentially ideation. As well as many forms of abuse that at least get mentioned in passing. Literally everyone in the fic has something traumatic that happened in their life that drove them to considering suicide. It will be a constant thing throughout the entire fic and I need to make that clear. And even if some stuff doesn't seem heavy in the first chapter, just remember that it is spread out through the whole fic. I do have specific warnings for each chapter listed at the end of the beginning notes. If that doesn't make sense then I mean at the end of this little segment before you start the chapter.
> 
> Also, if you know about or played The Caligula Effect, congratulations! I love you now! It's an amazing game that I love a lot(despite some very big and glaring issues I have with it) and I think it makes for very unique and interesting AU potential for many series. Of course, since GX is my hyperfixation, that's what I combined it with.
> 
> So, if you do know/played TCE then be mindful that I changed a lot of canon aspects, not just to fit with the GX cast, but also just so they work better in general. I feel like TCE didn't go as hard as it could/should have so to speak in a lot of ways. There's so much that could have been improved(even in Overdose, which is the only version that came to the west) and so this fic kinda also serves as my way of changing those things to fit my prefered vision. As such, that also means people that don't know about TCE extra don't need to worry about something not making sense! I assure you that everything TCE related gets explained.
> 
> **Chapter Specific Warnings: (skip for no spoilers or if you don't care)**
> 
> **Always feel free to tell me about something that needs to be tagged that I might have missed or didn't consider!**
> 
> -Heavy suicide mention  
> -One off self harm mention  
> -One off eating disorder mention

_"Ngh, ah… The pain… It hurts. It hurts so much. I want to forget. I need to forget. I can't… keep going… like this. It's my fault, all my fault. All of it! My fault…"_

__

_"Do you wish for it to stop?"_

__

__

__

_"H-huh? Wh-who's there?"_

____

__

____

_"Do you wish for it to stop?"_

_____ _

__

_____ _

_"I… I do."_

______ _ _

__

______ _ _

_"Then please, come with me. You can help me… where I can help you."_

______ _ _

"Yuki? Yuki Judai? Are you present?"

______ _ _

The class glanced around the room, curious where the new student was. The blue haired boy in the back of the middle row glanced over his shoulder, spotting the sleeping brunet in the desk behind him.

______ _ _

"Hey, w-wake up." The boy whispered and nudged the brunet in the arm.

______ _ _

"H-huh…?" The brunet grumbled in his sleep.

______ _ _

"Yuki Judai, are you here?" The teacher repeated.

______ _ _

The brunet suddenly threw his head up as his brown eyes widened. "Uh, h-here, sir!"

______ _ _

The class all turned to stare at him and he suddenly felt their eyes boring into him. His shoulders tensed as he realized they weren't his classmates. Their uniforms were different and he didn't recognize a single face. This wasn't his school.

______ _ _

"Thank you, and welcome to your new school. I hope your stay is beneficial to your recovery." The teacher greeted as he focused on his clipboard.

______ _ _

"My… stay? W-wait… where am I? This isn't my school. How did I get here?" Judai questioned, feeling himself grow frantic.

______ _ _

"Hm? You don't know?" One girl wondered.

______ _ _

"It's Kishimai High School, duh." A boy answered.

______ _ _

"Kishimai? N-no, I go to-..." Judai cut himself off and stared at his desk.

______ _ _

Kishimai wasn't his high school, but he couldn't remember where he did go to school. Why couldn't he recall? Did he really go to Kishimai then? No, of course he didn't. He would remember that. But then why couldn't he remember his actual school?

______ _ _

"Do you… not remember how you got here?"

______ _ _

Judai looked forward to see the blue haired boy in front of him. He looked a bit nervous.

______ _ _

Judai shook his head. "No, I don't."

______ _ _

"Would you like a proper introduction again?" The teacher offered.

______ _ _

"Proper… introduction? Uh, yeah, sure. If it'll tell me what's goin' on here." Judai agreed.

______ _ _

The teacher cleared his throat before speaking. "Welcome to Kishimai High School in Mobius, where all your troubles will wash away and you can properly recuperate until you can return to the real world again. Please enjoy yourself as you have all the time in the world to stay here and focus on your healing in the healthiest environment possible. Remember, we're here to help you while providing a comforting setting for you to live in. Please don't hesitate to rely on us throughout your recovery."

______ _ _

Judai just stared at the teacher, his expression becoming somewhat somber. "Recovery… healing… th-the real world…? Wh-where am I?"

______ _ _

"He just said you're in Mobius. Ya know, where we come so we don't die." Another girl blurted out.

______ _ _

"Don't remind us." A black haired boy in the front of the class grumbled.

______ _ _

"...H-huh…?" Judai could barely speak, only stare with wide eyes.

______ _ _

"You don't… remember a thing." The blue haired boy muttered.

______ _ _

"Oh my, would you like an introduction to Mobius then?" The teacher further offered.

______ _ _

Judai only nodded.

______ _ _

"Well then, welcome to Mobius. You are here because you were suffering so greatly in the real world, that Mobius granted you access in order to avoid the world losing you forever. Here you will recover from the ordeals you faced until you are ready to return to the real world. Remember, we're here to help you while providing a comforting setting for you to live in. Please don't hesitate to rely on us throughout your recovery." The teacher explained.

______ _ _

"The amount of times we gotta hear that last part…" The black haired boy mumbled.

______ _ _

"Do you get it now, dude?" Another boy said.

______ _ _

Judai looked from the teacher to the blue haired boy, who still appeared nervous. The teacher's weird way of talking aside, Judai was suffering? What was he suffering from? He thought he felt some kind of pain before waking up, but he couldn't remember it too clearly. And the world could have lost him forever. How so? What kind of suffering could have been so bad that the world might lose him from it? He was supposed to recover, but how could he recover from something he couldn't remember.

______ _ _

"I don't think he does get it." The black hair boy stated, causing the class to look at him as he stood up. "You're here in Mobius - in Kishimai High - because you were gonna kill yourself."

______ _ _

Judai felt a weight form over him and a tension spread across the classroom.

______ _ _

"N-no way! I'd never do that!" Judai immediately shouted.

______ _ _

"How do you know? You don't know how you got here. No one forgets how they got here. Do you even remember why you were gonna do it? Do you remember anything?" The other boy interrogated him.

______ _ _

Judai hunched his shoulders as his head started to pound. He couldn't remember anything. The idea of killing himself seemed so far fetched, but how could he be sure if he couldn't even remember what would make him want to do that. He didn't even remember his name. He just trusted what the teacher called out was meant for him. He didn't even know what he looked like. Maybe it was possible he would want to kill himself.

______ _ _

"Leave him alone, Manjoume." The blue haired suddenly butted in.

______ _ _

"Oh, what does the little shrimp, Sho, have to say now?" Manjoume questioned in a mocking tone.

______ _ _

Sho looked to the floor before adjusting his glasses and looking back up. "He-... he clearly doesn't remember anything. Maybe he repressed everything. You shouldn't assume stuff about what people have been through, you know that. So leave him alone and give him time to get used to it."

______ _ _

Manjoume glared at Sho.

______ _ _

"I don't…" Judai began, making everyone focus on him. "I don't want to get used to it here. I- I wanna go home! I wouldn't… I would never! I know it! I wouldn't ever give up!"

______ _ _

"Give up? That's kind of a rude way to put it." A girl said.

______ _ _

"Yeah, I wouldn't say I gave up so much as it was all just too much." A boy agreed.

______ _ _

Judai got up, the sound of his chair scooting against the floor making everyone fall silent.

______ _ _

"I wanna go home! Someone tell me how to go home! I don't need to be here! I _shouldn't_ be here! There's nothing wrong with me! I know it!" Judai desperately exclaimed.

______ _ _

His word choice continued to bother people, but that was the least of everyone's worries. No one knew what to say though, not until Sho opened his mouth.

______ _ _

"Uh… um… you could… go to the Elites. They have the power to grant permission to return to the real world." Sho explained.

______ _ _

"The Elites… Show me where they are!" Judai requested.

______ _ _

"H-huh? N-now or-...?" Sho nervously responded.

______ _ _

"Now, of course!"

______ _ _

Judai grabbed Sho's wrist and surprised everyone as he ran for the classroom door, Sho being forced along with him. Judai opened the door and left into the hallway, the sound of Sho begging to be released echoing down the hall. No one knew what to do and they all started an uproar of gossip over it. Manjoume stared at the open door with his jaw wide open. Recollecting himself, he bolted for the door and chased after Judai. A couple other students stood up after him, but the teacher immediately shut the door before they could leave as well.

______ _ _

"Now, now. Everyone relax. You all have your own unique ways of coping, so let them have theirs. Space and time are important, don't forget that." The teacher reassured everyone.

______ _ _

In the hall, Sho struggled to pry Judai's grip from his small wrist, but nothing seemed to be working. 

______ _ _

"Lemme go! You practically kidnapped me!" He shouted, sounding surprisingly angry with a glare to match.

______ _ _

"I need to know where the Elites are! Just help me then I'll leave you alone. Please." Judai requested.

______ _ _

Judai stopped and stared at Sho, the shorter teen noticing a slightly scared look hidden in Judai's eyes.

______ _ _

"Do you… really not remember what happened to you?" Sho asked, feeling himself calm down a bit.

______ _ _

"I don't remember anything. But that doesn't mean I need to be here. It's gotta be a mistake or something, I'm sure of it. There's no way I'd wanna…" Judai trailed off, not wanting to entertain the thought.

______ _ _

Sho looked off down the hall. He didn't want to think about it either.

______ _ _

"They usually hang out in the Student Council room. It's on the top floor. I can show you the way."

______ _ _

"Thank you, uh…"

______ _ _

"Marufuji Sho. Yuki Judai, right?"

______ _ _

"I guess so. Thanks, Sho."

______ _ _

The two teens simply stared at each other until Judai released his grip on Sho's wrist. Sho walked a bit ahead and Judai followed behind him.

______ _ _

"So who are… the Elites?" Judai wondered.

______ _ _

"The four members of the Student Council. They're all equals so no one's the president or vice-president or anything like that. They rule together. There's a principal here though, but he's just an NPC so he has no real power unlike them. They're supposedly fully recovered but choose to stay here to lend help in their role as the Student Council. No one knows what caused them to have the power to send people home, they can just… do that as members of the council I guess." Sho explained.

______ _ _

"Wait, NPC? Like in a video game?" Judai questioned.

______ _ _

"Kinda, yeah. That's just what we all call them. Uh, the faculty I mean. Like all the adults around here. The principal, the teachers, the janitors. All them. They're not real. You heard the way the teacher talked, right? He kinda sounded like a video game NPC that explains things with the same dialogue over and over again. That's where the name comes from. There's also others outside the school. They basically keep things running around here and help in our recovery. Also like therapists. We don't recover completely on our own after all." Sho answered.

______ _ _

"Oh, so wait a minute! This place is like one big therapy session? Or like a psych ward or asylum or whatever? Those kinda places?" Judai assumed.

______ _ _

Sho nodded. "That's one way to put it. We come here to heal from what happened to us after deciding we can't take it anymore. Our classes don't go over normal subjects, but stuff like healthy coping mechanisms and all that. There are more private after school sessions too, since people like to keep quiet about what they're going through. Things get a little more _personal_ during those and you're not allowed to talk about them. Even though we all have classes together, everyone's individual recovery is very private since it can feel, uh… too intimate and personal to talk about. A lot of us are worried about judgement even though we're all kinda in the same boat. Ya know, the whole stigma about mental health."

______ _ _

Judai wasn't sure he knew. If he had gone through something tough then he might understand that issue, but he couldn't remember either way. He didn't want to believe it anyway. He just stared at the back of Sho's head. The shorter teen looked so young. Judai had to wonder how old Sho was and what such a young kid must have gone through to be in Mobius. What did everyone in Mobius go through? It must have been unbearable.

______ _ _

Sho and Judai walked into the entrance hall of the school. Judai trailed behind as Sho headed for the stairs to go up to the third floor. Coming down the stairs were four teens that Sho almost bumped into. He backed up, but was stopped when he felt Judai right behind him at the base of the stairs. Sho looked up, realizing it was the Elites.

______ _ _

The two stared at them as they stared back. Four boys, all in the Kishimai school uniform. From the right, the first one was the tallest and wore a cowboy hat with an eyepatch over his right eye. The second had fluffy teal hair and bright green eyes. The third had straight black hair with metal clips holding it back on the sides. The last wore glasses with spiky red hair and was the second tallest. It was strange to Judai how they all exuded an entirely different vibe than the others. The only one he didn't feel apprehensive of was the green eyed boy. The innocent look in his eyes assured Judai that the group couldn't have been that intimidating.

______ _ _

"Th-the Elites… I-I didn't expect to-... Aah, it's really them…" Sho nervously mumbled mainly to himself.

______ _ _

So it was them. That was what Judai assumed already.

______ _ _

"Sorry, didn't mean to be in your way." The green eyed one apologized.

______ _ _

"You're… the Elites, right?" Judai spoke up and gently pushed Sho behind him as he took a step forward.

______ _ _

"That's what the kid said." The bespectacled one stated.

______ _ _

"Ah, right. Anyway, I need you guys to let me go home." Judai said.

______ _ _

Each of them looked taken aback in their own way.

______ _ _

"Woah there, that's quite the demand." The tallest said.

______ _ _

"W-wait a minute! You can't just-"

______ _ _

"What's your name?" The green eyed teen cut off Sho.

______ _ _

"Yuki Judai, and this is Marufuji Sho." Judai introduced them.

______ _ _

"I'm Johan Andersen." The green eyed teen replied.

______ _ _

"Jim Cook." The tallest added.

______ _ _

The other two shared a look with each other before the third spoke up. "Austin O'Brien."

______ _ _

The redhead hesitated before responding last. "Amon… Garam."

______ _ _

"Judai… that's a new name. I take it you haven't been here long?" Johan wondered.

______ _ _

Judai shook his head. "Just got here actually, but it doesn't matter. I'm sure I'm not supposed to be here, so I need to go back home."

______ _ _

"Not supposed…" Amon started.

______ _ _

"...to be here?" Jim finished.

______ _ _

"If you think you're here by mistake then think again." O'Brien said. "We're all here for a reason. Mistakes don't happen in Mobius."

______ _ _

"Well this is the first mistake then. I know I shouldn't be here. I just shouldn't." Judai argued.

______ _ _

"Judai, you do know what brought you here, right?" Johan inquired.

______ _ _

"No." Judai answered, startling Sho. "I've been told people come here 'cause they try to kill themselves, but there's no way I would ever do that. It's just impossible."

______ _ _

"You sound unsure." Jim noted, making the other three look at him. "You sound like you can't believe you would do that rather than knowing you didn't. People don't come here unless they see no other option. Now you being here is what would be impossible if that wasn't the case for you."

______ _ _

"You say… you don't know what brought you here, but you know why people _do_ get brought here. I think Jim is right. Can you really be so certain you're not supposed to be here?" O'Brien questioned.

______ _ _

"Truth be told, I don't remember anything. I don't really know who I am. I just assumed the name called out was mine. But I do _know_ I'm not supposed to be here. If I'm sure about anything, it's that." Judai explained.

______ _ _

The Elites all looked at each other again. They didn't seem too won over by Judai's words.

______ _ _

"Judai…" Johan began, a worried expression forming on his face. "Please accept that that's just not possible. Even though you can't remember it, that doesn't mean you can be sure you didn't go through something."

______ _ _

"No one is brought to Mobius unless they meet the requirements." Amon added. "If you're here then the only answer is that you met those requirements. Something happened to cause you to fall into a deep enough despair. That's an undeniable fact."

______ _ _

"And just 'cause you can't remember doesn't mean you can't benefit from being here. You might end up remembering, and if you go back without any help then you might not be able to make it back here to get that help." Jim suggested.

______ _ _

"I think… at the least you should wait before deciding you really want to go back. You really could end up remembering. Although, I will concede if it turns out there really was a mistake." O'Brien offered.

______ _ _

"Right!" Johan agreed. "There's no need to rush! Mobius is a never ending place. Time doesn't flow here like in the real world. You won't be missing anything there by staying here. Maybe take some time to be extra sure that you want to go back. Like O'Brien said, if there's no way for you to benefit from being here, then there's no reason to make you stay. We can let you leave in that case. But it'd be best if you're as sure as possible that that's what you want. If you can't remember then you can't be sure that Mobius can't help you. I would love for you to at least take some time to get to understand this place and see if anything here can benefit you, or if you can remember something, before writing it off completely. After all, I honestly doubt you were really brought here by mistake."

______ _ _

Judai glanced at the ground and thought for a moment. He hated that they had a point. Just because he felt sure didn't mean he was right. He only had his gut feeling, which he wanted to believe, and nothing else to go on. Mobius seemed like a useful place, but he didn't believe it would be useful for him. Still, he supposed the things Sho explained about the school could benefit anyone regardless of if they needed to use the information.

______ _ _

"You'll really let me go home if I decide it's what I want?" Judai asked.

______ _ _

The four Elites shared a look with one another.

______ _ _

"Yeah, I think we're all fine with that." Jim said.

______ _ _

"Then… I'll give it some time, but don't get your hopes up." Judai stated.

______ _ _

Johan and Jim smiled in response.

______ _ _

"Don't expect us to." Amon muttered.

______ _ _

"It's less hope and more… knowing the foregone conclusion, I'd say." O'Brien commented.

______ _ _

The school bell suddenly rang, catching everyone's attention.

______ _ _

"Oops, we're way past late, heheh." Jim humorously noted.

______ _ _

"Well I'm done here." Amom stated and stepped down the stairs.

______ _ _

O'Brien looked from the other two, to Judai, then followed after Amon.

______ _ _

"Can't wait to find out what you decide!" Jim said a bit too cheerfully before joining Amon and O'Brien.

______ _ _

"Yuki Judai… I've never heard of someone forgetting everything upon arriving here, but maybe it means something good. You seem… unique, at least." Johan noted before being the last to leave.

______ _ _

Judai's eyes followed Johan before the Elite disappeared around the corner. Something felt unique about the four of them as well, but Judai couldn't pinpoint what.

______ _ _

"Uhhh, h-hey…"

______ _ _

Judai felt a tug on his uniform jacket and looked down at Sho. His eyes didn't stay long before he noticed there were other people present. He hadn't realized a small group of students formed behind him, watching as if his talk with the Elites was some kind of show to them. He hadn't considered his actions were that much of a spectacle in Mobius. Around one corner, even Manjoume was keeping a close eye on Judai. And around the other… a gray haired boy quickly walked away.

______ _ _

"Woah man, you just made demands to the Elites."

______ _ _

"Wanting to leave right after getting here… he must be in so much denial."

______ _ _

"Oof, tell me about it."

______ _ _

Judai and Sho looked at each other.

______ _ _

"I have a feeling you're about to be the new 'hot topic' around here." Sho claimed.

______ _ _

"Hopefully not for long." Judai remarked. "Uh, are there classes to get back to?"

______ _ _

"Yeah, but no one gets in trouble for not going. It's wholly optional, but you're not likely to get back home if you don't improve. Uh, your case is obviously different though." Sho explained.

______ _ _

"Oh, that's pretty sweet actually. You won't mind missing the rest of classes today, would you?" Judai asked.

______ _ _

"H-huh? Why?" Sho wondered.

______ _ _

"'Cause I need a tour guide. I should at least see the rest of this place, yeah? Get a hefty info dump and whatnot." Judai clarified.

______ _ _

"B-but you said you'd leave me alone after I took you to the Elites!" Sho protested.

______ _ _

"And this time I'm giving you the option. I'd like for you to do it since you're the first and only person I know here, but you can say no. I did kinda drag you along after all." Judai said and rubbed the back of his head.

______ _ _

Sho just stared at the brunet. He was the first and only person Judai knew in Mobius, and they really only knew each others' names. Sho had to admit he didn't actually have any friends in Mobius himself. He didn't talk to many people and he already had a reputation for being shy. Plus he tended to scare people off when he got aggressive. But Judai… Judai wanted Sho to give him a tour. Judai was done using Sho, but was now asking for more help instead of forcing him. Judai could have walked away and asked literally anyone else, but it was still Sho he wanted help from. Sho could actually be useful for once. It made the boy feel nervous in a strange way and he had to look away.

______ _ _

"I'll… I'll show you around." He agreed. "I've been here awhile so I know a lot about this place, but obviously not everything. If there's something I can't explain properly then just ask an NPC. That's what they're meant for after all."

______ _ _

"Thanks again, Sho. Glad I have someone to help me out." Judai said with a smile.

______ _ _

Sho tensed up and adjusted his glasses. "R-right. You seem… a bit too chipper about all this though."

______ _ _

"Oh, I do? Sorry. Maybe that's just the way I am. Or, at least I don't have a reason to be depressed. Or… one that I know about. Man, this is confusing."

______ _ _

Sho chuckled a bit. "Nah, I think more genuinely happy people are a good thing to have around here. Liven the place up a bit, ya know? Anyway, follow me. We'll start with the school and then go to the city when school ends."

______ _ _

"City? There's a whole city?!" Judai questioned as he followed behind Sho.

______ _ _

"Yeah. It's important we have other places to go other than school. Just because we're here for recovery doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to live normal lives. I mean, there's definitely nothing normal about this place, but being able to go shopping or walk through a park makes everything feel normal, even if just for a bit." Sho said. "Oh, we even have apartments too. Now that I think about you, you probably didn't get the run down on that if you don't remember anything. We could probably ask an NPC where you're supposed to stay."

______ _ _

"Living in an apartment, huh… Now would be a really good time to remember if I have a family I live with or not." Judai grumbled.

______ _ _

"Oh… yeah you have no way of knowing what your life was like. Anything's possible, especially since you came here, but… I… I hope you have a loving family to go back home to."

______ _ _

Judai glanced at Sho. The shorter teen was looking at him, but his eyes felt a bit distant. Like he was lamenting something.

______ _ _

"About that, what's going on on the outside? That Johan guy said time flows differently here. When I leave, will I go to right before I got here no matter how long has passed?"

______ _ _

"I'm not really sure. I haven't aged a day since I got here, and no one else has as far as I've noticed. I doubt we would go back and it be years in the future, especially with what was about to happen before we all arrived here."

______ _ _

"Wait, just how old are you, Sho? You look like a little kid."

______ _ _

Sho glared at Judai for a moment.

______ _ _

"Everyone says that… But I was sixteen when I got here. It's been… uh, maybe three years so I think I'm nineteen now. There's others who got here even younger and have been here even longer, so never trust that someone is as young as they look. Although, you're obviously as young as you look, since you just got here. You're probably the same age as me. Uh, at least physically."

______ _ _

"No way! So you're an adult! Three years feels like such a long time to be here too. And… even longer for some people, huh? Does it really take that long to get better?"

______ _ _

"I don't really know if I'd consider myself an adult. We don't exactly get the same life experience here that we would on the outside. Just being nineteen doesn't mean I'm any more mature than I was when I got here. Although… I suppose our classes do help us handle things in a mature way. It's not like I know about taxes though, hahah. Uh, but anyway. Everyone goes at their own pace. I knew about someone who went back after only, like, ten months of being here. Just depends on the person and how bad they're doing. You tend to get used to this place too. Even if you're pretty much fully recovered, it's not just about that. You also have to actually be _ready_ to go back into the real world. And, well, like I said… you tend to get used to this place."

______ _ _

"I'll be here for a while then, huh…"

______ _ _

"You can't know that. I mean, the Elites already agreed, if you can't recover your memories and decide not to stay, they'll let you go back. But, you can stay if you want. The whole point of this place is to stay until you're ready to go back. I'm sure that applies even in your case. It's whenever you're ready."

______ _ _

Judai stopped in the hall and Sho stood beside him.

______ _ _

"When I'm ready, huh…"

______ _ _

Would Judai ever be ready?

______ _ _

Sho escorted Judai around the rest of the school. There really wasn't much to see in just the school alone. It felt like a completely normal high school, even if it was a bit too clean and everything felt a bit too perfectly in its place.

______ _ _

There was a large library filled with self help books. It didn't appear to have anything the average library would have though, like fiction books or math books or anything relating to a different subject. There were a couple students sitting around reading, but it looked like most people just checked out books and left. Judai had to wonder where all the books came from.

______ _ _

Out in the hallway there was a bulletin board covered in club posters that they walked by. It wasn't for anything along the lines of chess or photography club. It kind of disturbed Judai that they were for different forms of abuse. There was bullying, PTSD, self harm, eating disorders, and many, many others. That must have been the private after school sessions that Sho mentioned. They took the form of clubs at Kishimai. Judai did suppose talking about those kinds of personal things in class might have been embarrassing. In a club where everyone was going through the same type of thing, it was probably easier to talk stuff out. Judai wondered what club Sho went to, and if there was one he himself belonged in.

______ _ _

Continuing on, they reached the gym. It seemed a bit unorthodox though. There were no bleachers, but it seemed like there was a running track just outside. There was a shelf full to the brim with rolled up mats. Sho had to explain that gym wasn't really about playing sports so much as it was about yoga and meditation. Students still played sports when they wanted to, but no one was forced to do that. They also ran laps sometimes, but everything seemed optional. No one did anything they didn't want to, and although Sho admitted to not being very fit, he did admit that sometimes a lap or two around the track helped clear his mind.

______ _ _

By the time the vast majority of the tour was over, Judai realized a lot of students he passed seem to stare at him. Had word spread around about Judai's confrontation with the Elites? They didn't exactly seem intimidating, but he wasn't sure what their impression was to the rest of the student body. Maybe what he did was just seen as disrespectful to the Elites. Were people going to be mad at him for making demands of them then?

______ _ _

Sho brought Judai back to their classroom, which Judai noticed was class 2-5. So he was a second year. He really must have been sixteen then. The classroom was empty, save for Sho's bag that was left at his desk. That must have been why Sho brought them back there. Judai went ahead and sat back down in his desk, staring out the window as Sho picked up his bag.

______ _ _

"Do you have a club you need to go to?" Judai asked.

______ _ _

"Huh? No, I don't go to a club." Sho answered.

______ _ _

"Why not? Aren't they supposed to help? Like, where you get the majority of that help." The brunet wondered.

______ _ _

"I, uh… just feel weird about it. Clubs aren't mandatory and I don't… wanna talk about things with other people. Groups sessions just don't help me. I prefer reading things in the library and recovering by… well, by having freedom I guess. Not thinking about it helps me more is what I feel." Sho explained.

______ _ _

Judai noticed Sho was avoiding eye contact. He felt having freedom was a way for him to recover. That seemed so strange to Judai. He wasn't going to question how anyone chose to recover, but it made him curious as to what freedom could help with.

______ _ _

"Sho… what did you go through?"

______ _ _

The shorter teen tensed up and clutched his bag close to his chest. It was painful, but he wanted to speak. He wanted to answer Judai. He wanted to actually talk to someone, even if Judai wouldn't understand. He wanted to tell someone he could trust, but the words were stuck in his throat. There were too many of them trying to escape at once. He didn't know where to start. How to start. It was embarrassing and sudden, but he made the snap decision that he wanted to get it all out. Three years of silence had built up and he needed to release it all, but nothing would come out.

______ _ _

"How dare you break the most fundamental rule of Mobius!!"

______ _ _

The classroom door flung open and Manjoume burst into the room, startling the other two boys.

______ _ _

"Who the hell do you think you are, disrupting class and running out to confront the Elites and _making demands_ to them! Then breaking the sacred rule of Mobius?! You don't run this damn place!" Manjoume shouted.

______ _ _

"M-Manjoume… w-were you eavesdropping?!" Sho exclaimed.

______ _ _

"Huh? Uh, n-no! I would never do something so low!" Manjoume suddenly denied.

______ _ _

"Yeaaah, I think you were eavesdropping." Judai said. "But, what do you mean by the sacred rule?"

______ _ _

"I wasn't-!! Wait, right! You don't know! Wait, no! That doesn't excuse it! It should still go without saying!!" Manjoume continued to yell.

______ _ _

"Uh, what's he talking about?" Judai asked Sho.

______ _ _

Sho simply sighed. "The number one main rule in Mobius… is that you don't ask about other people's trauma. You just… don't. It's incredibly rude and inappropriate. We're all here because we almost killed ourselves over what we've gone through. It's our innermost personal secret. Clubs meet in private so no one is able to tell what kind of trauma people have just by seeing what club they go into. Everyone in clubs also takes an oath to never reveal who's in their club. Coming out on your own and telling someone what you went through is seen as a sign of deep, everlasting trust. You only tell it to someone you trust in more than even yourself. And even then, most people wouldn't tell anyway."

______ _ _

Judai went wide eyed. He didn't know that, and yet in hindsight he realized it really was a rude thing to ask. He asked Sho to tell a practical stranger what drove him to want to kill himself. That indeed was incredibly rude of him. He wished he could take it back, and yet, it looked as though Sho was going to tell him anyway. Sho said it was something told only to the most trusted people, but Sho appeared like he was trying to give Judai an answer. Maybe Sho was just having a hard time telling Judai it was rude to ask and didn't want to seem rude back. He supposed there was no way to know what Sho was going to say since the other guy interrupted.

______ _ _

"I'm… I'm sorry Sho. That was careless of me." Judai muttered.

______ _ _

A tiny smile formed on Sho's face. "It's okay, really. You didn't know."

______ _ _

Judai wanted to argue that it wasn't okay, but Sho was willing to overlook it, so Judai should just be thankful for that.

______ _ _

"Who… who are you anyway? Man-… something, right?" Judai inquired.

______ _ _

"It's Manjoume-san! _Jun_ Manjoume-san! Get it right!" Manjoume corrected.

______ _ _

"Uh, right… Manjoume-san." Judai quietly responded.

______ _ _

"What are you doing in here anyway? I thought you were in the 'go home' club." Sho questioned, his tone sounding uncharacteristically harsh.

______ _ _

"I'm making sure this weirdo doesn't cause any more problems! Someone needs to keep an eye on him!" Manjoume claimed.

______ _ _

"H-huh…?" Judai got a goofy wide eyed look on his face.

______ _ _

"If anyone needs to do that then it'll be me, so you can butt out. Got that?" Sho decided.

______ _ _

"Watch your damn tone, kid! You're speaking to the class rep!" Manjoume ordered.

______ _ _

"I'll use whatever _damn_ tone I want. And you're not the rep. No one is. You appointed yourself that title. _And_ just because you're a year older than me doesn't mean you can tell me what to do and call me a kid. We're both still the same age in here." Sho argued.

______ _ _

Judai just looked back and forth between the two of them. They really seemed to go at it. Judai had to wonder if they had a history together. It surprised him how aggressive Sho seemed to get too. The little guy appeared so shy at first.

______ _ _

A knock on the wall made the two quiet down.

______ _ _

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Yuki Judai."

______ _ _

The boys turned their heads to see three girls walk into the classroom. The girl in front had long dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She seemed to carry herself rather elegantly. The two girls behind her had black and auburn hair and they both looked a bit overly curious.

______ _ _

"Uh… that's me." Judai announced, accepting that name as his own whether it was true or not.

______ _ _

"A-A-A-Asuka-san…" Sho stuttered at the sight of her.

______ _ _

"T-Tenjoin-kun…" Manjoume muttered, his eyes completely fixated on the blonde

______ _ _

"Oh, Manjoume-kun. You're still here." Asuka noted.

______ _ _

Manjoume felt his heart flutter at the sound of his name coming out of her mouth.

______ _ _

"Judai, I'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind." Asuka said as she walked up to Judai's desk, a bit of static appearing around her feet with each step.

______ _ _

"I don't mind at all. But, uh… who are you?" Judai asked.

______ _ _

"Guh, ah- who are- No, no! He's new, it's understandable! Gaaah! You have no idea whose presence you're in! She's Tenjoin Asuka! The most gorgeous girl in all of Kishimai High- No! In all of Mobius!! You must grovel before her! Grovel!!" Manjoume extravagantly explained.

______ _ _

Everyone just stared at him.

______ _ _

"How many times do I have to tell you to please not grovel, Manjoume-kun?" Asuka complained.

______ _ _

"Actually, do grovel. That way I can step on your head." Sho said.

______ _ _

"You are an evil, evil little child." Manjoume angrily muttered.

______ _ _

The two glared at each other as Asuka simply sighed.

______ _ _

"Anyway, Judai, I heard you demanded that the Elites return you home after you just got here." Asuka said.

______ _ _

So the gossip _was_ spreading like wildfire.

______ _ _

"Uh, yeah. I did." Judai responded.

______ _ _

"Care to tell me why? I haven't been able to get that info from anyone."

______ _ _

"Sure, but… why do you care?"

______ _ _

They all stared at Judai. Asuka didn't expect him to be so blunt.

______ _ _

"Ah, because…" Asuka glanced over her shoulder at her two friends. "Because I want to go home too."

______ _ _

It was Asuka's turn to get stared at.

______ _ _

"A-Asuka-sama?!" Her two friends exclaimed.

______ _ _

"If you wanted my help with that then… I'm afraid you're probably not gonna get it. I agreed to wait a while before deciding if I really do wanna go back. I mean, I know I do, but I'm giving this place a chance anyway." Judai told her.

______ _ _

"Giving this place… a chance?" Asuka repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

______ _ _

"Judai can't remember anything about himself, nor what caused him to come here. Ya know, beside the obvious. That's why he wants to go home." Sho explained.

______ _ _

"You can't remember? Not a single thing?" Asuka looked taken aback at the idea.

______ _ _

Judai shook his head. "I don't even actually know if my name is my name. But, since I can't remember, that's why the Elites asked I wait. In case I do remember something or find some kinda use for this place."

______ _ _

"Spooky!" The raven haired girl commented.

______ _ _

"Poor guy." The auburn haired girl added.

______ _ _

"Tenjoin-kun… I didn't know you were ready to leave." Manjoume said.

______ _ _

"Technically it's been determined I'm not. But I want out anyway." Asuka clarified.

______ _ _

"Wait, what? Don't you have to finish recovery first?" Judai wondered.

______ _ _

"You don't need to know about that. It's none of your business." Asuka refused to answer.

______ _ _

"Yeah, Judai! I already told you to watch your mouth!" Manjoume added.

______ _ _

Judai immediately shoved a hand over his mouth.

______ _ _

"And I told you to lay off of him. He just got here. He doesn't know any better." Sho demanded.

______ _ _

He and Manjoune glared at each other again.

______ _ _

"You are new here, and you don't remember anything. You didn't mean anything bad, but do try to watch your words from now on." Asuka advised.

______ _ _

"R-right. But uh, what makes you think anything I know- or… did? Uh, would help you get outta here?" Judai responded.

______ _ _

"I was hoping if you could convince them to let you go back even if you're not deemed ready, then you could do the same for me." Asuka revealed.

______ _ _

Judai looked at her for a moment. "But… the chance of that working aside, what makes you think you can ask that of me?"

______ _ _

"You… really do have a rude personality, even if unintentional." She noted.

______ _ _

"Saying that seems kinda rude to me…" Sho muttered.

______ _ _

The static at Asuka's feet flickered.

______ _ _

Judai looked around at the group, coming to a conclusion. "I think… we're all kinda rude."

______ _ _

The group glanced at each other before Asuka let out a chuckle, surprising the other three and her friends as well.

______ _ _

"Maybe you're right. Let's just drop the expectation of formalities then. Is there nothing you can do, Judai?" She said.

______ _ _

"To be honest with you, I just wanna get myself out, and as soon as possible. I'm not really interested in making friends. Ah, as rude as that may seem. And if I'm stuck here and they won't let me go back, then there's no need for you to associate with me."

______ _ _

"I didn't say I wanna make friends. I said I wanna use you."

______ _ _

"And I said I don't think you can even if I'm okay with that."

______ _ _

Judai and Asuka simply stared at each other. A tension formed in the air that even the others could feel. They both had plain expressions on their faces, but Judai could sense something strong behind Asuka's eyes. It was getting stronger by the second.

______ _ _

_"Kuri, kuri!"_

__

______ _ _

__

Judai's eyes widened. Did he hear something?

__

______ _ _

__

_"She's going to become a Digihead! Help her, kuri!"_

____

______ _ _

____

"A-... a what?"

____

______ _ _

____

Asuka flinched and gripped at her chest. She felt a rage building inside her that she couldn't explain. She wanted to go home. She was tired of being trapped in Mobius. She couldn't get better, not in Mobius. She had to go home where she knew she could get the help she needed, and in the proper way. She couldn't run and hide anymore. She had to face her fears. But she wasn't deemed ready. But of course she wasn't ready, she would never get better in Mobius. She hated it. She hated being there. Judai was her best chance and he wasn't helping. She didn't care what she had to make him do. She was going to get his help whether she had to force it from him or not.

____

______ _ _

____

"Ngh, gah!" Asuka groaned as the tightness in her chest grew worse.

____

______ _ _

____

"A-Asuka-san?" Sho called out.

____

______ _ _

____

"You okay, Tenjoin-kun?" Manjoume worried.

____

______ _ _

____

_"Help her!"_

_____ _

______ _ _

_____ _

"But how?!" Judai questioned, unsure who he was talking to.

_____ _

______ _ _

_____ _

" _Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!_ "

_____ _

______ _ _

_____ _

Some kind of pulse emitted from Asuka, pushing everyone away and throwing them into the classroom wall. Judai groaned and sat up. He looked to Sho and Manjoume first, who both appeared to be struggling to get up. Asuka's friends were cowering in the corner and holding onto each other. Asuka, meanwhile, was clutching at her head and mumbling to herself in between short screams. There was what looked like static jumping around her.

_____ _

______ _ _

_____ _

**"I have to go home. I have to go h-home. Agh, aaaagh!! Home… go home…"**

___****_ _ _

______ _ _

___****_ _ _

_"Help her, kuri!"_

___**__** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**__** _ _ _

Judai slammed a fist into the wall behind himself.

___**__** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**__** _ _ _

"Tell me how, damn it! How am I supposed to help someone when I can't help myself here?!" He demanded as he got to his feet.

___**__** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**__** _ _ _

Everything around him suddenly froze and faded away, leaving just an area of black mist swirling around him. Before him appeared a small brown ball of fur. Two angel wings popped out of the back and big purple eyes opened wide. Green claws sprouted at the bottom and in the front, which stretched out.

___**__** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**__** _ _ _

_"Kuri, kuri! Sorry for taking so long. I didn't expect your conviction to take that long to strengthen, kuri."_

___**____ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**____ ** _ _ _

"Wh-what the hell…" Judai muttered.

___**____ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**____ ** _ _ _

He didn't know how much more strangeness he could take in one day.

___**____ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**____ ** _ _ _

_"You need to help her achieve Catharsis or else she'll go on a rampage, kuri! You're the only one that can help her!"_

___**_____ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**_____ _ ** _ _ _

Judai groaned and scowled at the creature before him.

___**_____ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**_____ _ ** _ _ _

"Screw that! I don't even know what's going on with myself!! I just wanna leave this place! I was thrown in here under the pretense that I was gonna kill myself and that's just- just stupid! I wanna remember who I am! I wanna know why I was brought here! The real reason I was brought here!" Judai shouted.

___**_____ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**_____ _ ** _ _ _

_"Yes, yes! And?! We're almost there, kuri!"_

___**______ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______ _ _ ** _ _ _

"And I want everything to go back to normal!!"

___**______ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______ _ _ ** _ _ _

Judai felt something sharp pierce through his chest and nearly knock him back. He couldn't breath from the pressure it formed on his chest. He looked down to see a spike poking out of his chest, right over his heart. The wound was covered in anemone flowers as if they were coming from inside him. He wanted to lift his hand up to touch it, to make sure he wasn't seriously injured, but a weight in his hand made him look over. Resting in his right hand was the hilt of a pitch black sword, a longsword to be exact. Judai couldn't see it, but small black angel wings had also sprouted from his back.

___**______ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______ _ _ ** _ _ _

_"Catharsis Effect achieved! It worked, kuri! Now please, help her do the same! It's the only way to stop her and protect the others!"_

___**_______ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**_______ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Judai looked from the sword to the creature. "Huh? B-but… what do I do?! How does this-... Wh-what is this?!"

___**_______ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**_______ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

_"I can explain later! I don't have much time left, kuri! Just please, subdue her any way you can with your Catharsis Effect!"_

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

And with that, the small creature poofed away and the world shattered, putting Judai back in the classroom with Asuka.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"C-Catharsis… Effect…" Judai glanced at the sword in his hand and grabbed the hilt with his other hand, brandishing it in front of himself. "I have no idea how to use this thing, but if it's what I gotta do then so be it!"

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Black static pooled around Asuka's feet and traveled up her legs, forming a sort of armor over her legs. With unimaginable speed, she sprinted at Judai and jumped in the air. She brought her heel down, but Judai managed to block it in time, effectively stopping Asuka in her tracks.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"I-I blocked it?! I blocked it! Hell yeah!" Judai cheered.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

He pushed his sword up and pushed Asuka back, who jumped away to distance herself from him.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"What's… going on?" Sho muttered as he got to his knees and adjusted his glasses.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Judai took the initiative next and charged at Asuka. He swung his sword, but she dodged it with her quick speed and counterattacked by kicking him in the face. It was a strong enough hit that Judai was thrown against the wall again, but easily regained his senses. He was surprised to find that it didn't hurt too bad. He would be able to fight without easily losing, that was certain at least.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"A-are Judai and Tenjoin-kun fighting…?" Manjoume wondered as he rubbed his sore head.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"I think, but… where did Judai get a sword from?" Sho responded.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Hey, c'mon! Snap out of it! I don't wanna hurt you!" Judai called out.

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**________ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

**"Home… home… must… go home. Fu-Fubu… ki… come… home…"**

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Fubuki?" Judai curiously repeated.

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

He didn't have time to think on it since Asuka charged at him again. This time Judai made sure to dodge as well. He was rather proud of himself for catching on quick to whatever was going on. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for Asuka's second attack. She kicked him again and he collided with the wall next to Manjoume.

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Judai!" Manjoume and Sho exclaimed.

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

He groaned and got to his feet again. "K-keep your heads down!"

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

He swung at Asuka the moment she attempted to kick him again. Their blows collided and they both backed up. Despite feeling out of breath, Judai gave her no chance to regain herself and lunged his blade at her. Again, she dodged. Judai cursed her speed. She was so quick and seemed to know what she was doing. Meanwhile Judai had a large sword that was slow to swing. The disadvantage was obvious. He'd have to find a way to get the upper hand.

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Then he remembered Asuka's friends. He glanced at the girls for just a split second while blocking another of Asuka's kicks. They were still there, looking terrified out of their minds.

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Hey, you two!" Judai called out to get their attention. "Distract her!"

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

The girls stared at Judai, then each other. Asuka was their friend, they had to do something to help her and so they hesitantly got to their feet.

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"A-Asuka-sama!"

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Hey, Asuka-sama! Over here!"

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****_ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

**"Junko… Momoe…"**

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Asuka turned her attention from Judai to her friends. They immediately flinched as Asuka honed in on them and they grabbed ahold of each other. Asuka dashed at them and Judai took the opportunity to jump on one of the few desks still standing upright. He launched off it, pointing the tip of his blade at Asuka's back.

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"I'm sorry if this hurts, Asuka!!"

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Judai's sword pierced through Asuka's chest, right through her heart. Amaryllis petals fluttered out of the wound and fell to the ground.

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

**"G-gah! Take… me…** home…"

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______******** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

_"Catharsis Effect achieved, kuri!"_

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Judai pulled his sword out, not noticing that it remained completely bloodless. A spike remained in Asuka's chest where she was stabbed, Amaryllis flowers hanging off of it. The black armor on Asuka's legs transformed. Their figure was sleeker and looked like boots that reached up past Asuka's skirt. At the bottom, under her feet, they looked like ice skates. It was hard for Judai to get a good look at them, since they faded away completely. Even the static around her faded away too. Judai felt a weight lift from his arm and looked down to realize his sword had disappeared. He couldn't tell, but his wings were gone as well.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Asuka-sama!" Junko and Momoe exclaimed.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Asuka fell forward and the two girls caught her, struggling to hold her up. She must have been unconscious. At least, Judai hoped that was the case.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Judai!! What the hell did you do?! You stabbed her!" Manjoume shouted.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

Judai was whirled around by Manjoume, who grabbed the front of his uniform jacket and shook him.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"W-woah, hey! What about me?! She kicked me into the wall! Like, three times!" Judai protested.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

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"She's not bleeding." Momoe assured them.

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The boys looked down to see that Momoe and Junko let Asuka lay on the floor, her head resting on their legs. Manjoume let out a sigh and released his grip on Judai.

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"But there was a weird spiky thing in her chest. It's gone now though." Junko informed them.

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"Spiky thing? Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!!" Judai shouted.

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He pulled on the collar of his shirt to look down it, seeing a small spike poking out over his heart. It had somehow gotten smaller so it wasn't protruding through his clothes, but it was still present. It was strange how there wasn't a hole through his clothes though. He tried to pull his shirt collar down, but it wouldn't go far enough. He forgot he was wearing a button up and could just undo the buttons, so he lifted his shirt up to show everyone.

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"I've still got mine! See?! Maybe hers is still there!" Judai revealed.

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Manjoume looked dumbfounded while Junko and Momoe covered their eyes and Sho's face turned completely red.

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"Alright, that's weird as hell, but put your shirt down, dumbass." Manjoume demanded.

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"Huh? Oh, sorry." Judai apologized and fixed his shirt, realizing that was probably unnecessary.

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"D-does it hurt?" Sho asked, finding himself unable to look at Judai.

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"No, it doesn't actually. In fact, none of the fight really hurt too bad either. I would think half my bones would be broken from that." The brunet answered.

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"That's… really weird. This whole thing is really weird. Gah! This whole day has been really weird!" Manjoume shouted and yanked on his own hair.

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A gasp from Momoe made the boys look down. They realized Junko had undone Asuka's uniform jacket and the top button of her shirt, making Sho and Manjoume flinch even though they couldn't see what the girls could.

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"Look away!!" Momoe shouted at them.

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They both turned around, but Judai was simply confused. Not wanting to get in trouble, he turned around as well.

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"Her spiky thing is still there too." Junko revealed.

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"What does it mean?" Sho wondered.

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"Ca-Catharsis… Effect…" Judai muttered.

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"Huh? What?" Manjoume questioned.

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"Catharsis Effect! You guys didn't hear the little fuzzy thing's voice?" Judai repeated.

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Manjoume and Sho stared at Judai.

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"You're just crazy, that's what it is. You are absolutely, completely bonkers. You've lost every single possible marble you ever coulda had and that's why you don't remember shit! You've fucking lost it!" Manjoume complained.

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"Hey! You should know well enough that's not stuff you say to someone! Especially not here! He's not crazy! I-I trust Judai. Something really weird is going on here, but it's not his fault." Sho defended Judai.

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"Sh-Sho…" Judai couldn't believe Sho claimed to trust him. "Y-yeah, it's not like I have any idea what's going on either. But… you guys really didn't hear that thing?"

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Manjoume groaned. "Alright, alright. What did it say?"

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"Uh, like, stuff about a Catharsis Effect and that I had to save Asuka. That was really kinda it." Judai explained.

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"Well I didn't hear anything like that." Sho said.

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"And neither did I." Manjoume added.

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Junko and Momoe looked at each other before shaking their heads. They didn't hear a voice either.

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"But… it told you to save Asuka-sama, right? Whatever it is, it must be a good thing." Momoe suggested.

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"...I hope…" Judai muttered.

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"Ngh…"

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Everyone looked down to see Asuka stir for a moment before opening her eyes.

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"Asuka-sama!" Junko and Momoe happily called out.

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"Tenjoin-kun, you okay?!" Manjoume asked.

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Asuka slowly sat up and rubbed her head. "What… what happened?"

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"Do you not remember?" Judai questioned.

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She shook her head. "I got really angry, and then… nothing." Asuka glanced down at herself and realized her shirt was unbuttoned. "Why is my- What the hell is that?! What is that?! Why is it in me? What the _hell?!_ "

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"Asuka-sama, calm down!" Junko tried to tell her.

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"Asuka, don't worry. I don't really get it, but I've got one too." Judai assured her.

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Asuka looked up to see that Judai unbuttoned part of his shirt and pulled it aside, revealing the small spike in his own chest.

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"W-what is it?" She asked.

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"I think it's our Catharsis Effect. What that means though, I dunno." He answered.

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"Catharsis… Effect…" She quietly repeated.

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"This whole thing is _seriously_ confusing…" Manjoume sighed.

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"That's alright. All that matters is that we get home." Judai said.

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"We?" Asuka repeated again.

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"Yeah! You and me, Asuka, we're gonna go home. We'll get out of Mobius, together!" He told her with a smile.

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The brunet held a hand out to Asuka and she looked at it for a moment before reaching out her own hand. Judai took her hand and pulled her up to her feet, Junko and Momoe standing up with her.

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"Yeah, we will." She agreed, a smile forming on her face as well.

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"Hey, sorry for another personal question, but do you go to a club?" He suddenly asked.

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"Huh? N-no, I don't." She said.

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"Okay then! We'll be our own club, the Go-Home Club!" He decided.

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Everyone stared at him in surprise.

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"Go home clubs are what you say when you don't actually have a club. It's just an excuse, not a real club." Sho noted.

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"Doesn't mean we can't make it a real club! What do ya say, Asuka?" Judai said.

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Asuka chuckled slightly. "I would love to be in the Go-Home Club with you, Judai."

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"Awesome! But, uh… I think it might take a little while. I do still wanna learn more about this place, and now that weirder than usual things are happening, I'm curious about that too."

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"That Catharsis thing, huh?"

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"Yeah, that Catharsis thing. I wanna know what it is, and what these spikes mean. And what happened to you. You did practically try to kill me after all."

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"H-huh? I did? What exactly… did I do?"

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"You really don't remember, Asuka-sama?" Momoe wondered.

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"You got all kicky and staticy and your legs turned black!" Junko tried to explain.

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Asuka just stared at them. "I… think I would rather not know."

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"It was definitely scary. Are you sure you're not hurt, Judai? And there's nothing wrong with you, is there, Asuka-san?" Sho inquired.

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"I told ya, I'm surprisingly not hurt at all." Judai reassured him.

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"Other than this thing in my chest nothing seems off." Asuka said.

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"Agh, let's just hope things don't get any weirder." Manjoume said.

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"Yeah, maybe we can ask the Elites. See if they know anything about this." Judai suggested.

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"I doubt that. I mean, asking them. Uh, at least for right now. They stay in the Student Council room all day after school hours." Sho explained.

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"What? And never come out?" Judai wondered.

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"Tch, yeah! I think they live in there. I bet that room's way bigger than it looks. They don't come out for anything." Manjoume added.

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"You'll have no luck talking to them after school hours unless they call you to meet with them. You can try tomorrow morning, but you'll get nowhere today." Asuka said.

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"Ugh, tomorrow. Okay. We're probably trespassing by staying here this long anyway, huh." Judai assumed.

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"No, actually." Junko said. "You can stay on campus as long as you want. But you probably might wanna check out your apartment and the rest of the city. You did just get here after all."

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"Yeah, take your time if that's what you wanna do, Judai. I've been here for five years, I can wait another couple weeks or so. At least I have a chance to leave now." Asuka assured him.

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"Thanks, Asuka. I promise I'll do what I can when I can." Judai swore.

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"Right, we'll see you boys tomorrow then. And sorry for whatever trouble I caused." She said.

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"Hey, everyone's okay so it's no big deal!" He said.

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She waved at them and turned around to walk out of the classroom, Junko and Momoe following behind her.

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"Great, now people are grouping me up with you." Manjoume grumbled.

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"Oh? But aren't we friends now?" Judai teased.

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"Hell no! I don't wanna be friends with you. Or the shrimp over here." Manjoume protested.

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"You know I'm at the perfect height to inflict many painful things, right?" Sho threatened.

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"You're tiny, I'm not scared of you. Ugh, anyway, I'm going home." Manjoume said.

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"Wait, couldn't we walk together?" Judai suggested.

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"Don't you wanna look around the city or whatever? I need a nap after that shit." Manjoume responded as he started to leave the room.

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"It's okay, Aniki. You don't need to associate with a jerk like him anyway." Sho said.

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"...Aniki?" Judai curiously repeated.

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"Huh?" Sho flinched. "O-oh, uh… I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to call you that!"

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Judai chuckled. "It's fine. I like it even. Aniki… Yeah, I'm Aniki!"

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Judai smiled and Sho put his hands over his eyes. It was too embarrassing for him. He couldn't believe he said that out loud.

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"Oh, uh, shouldn't we do something about the classroom? Won't we get in trouble for leaving it like this?" Judai wondered.

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Sho looked around at the room. The desks were strewn all over the place as if a tornado passed through.

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"No, it's okay. It'll go back to the way it was before once we leave. Mobius is weird like that." Sho explained.

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"Ah… okay then. Well, show me around the city a bit. I'd like to get my mind off the weird things." Judai requested.

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"Same here. Let's go." Sho agreed.

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The duo walked out of the classroom and Judai thought he heard the sound of furniture rustling. He turned around to see all the desks back in their original places. Even though Sho told him that would happen, it still creeped him out. He caught up with Sho to get further away from the room.

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Mobius really was weird, but Judai had to wonder what made it work. Where was it anyway? Obviously the real world was called 'the real world' and 'the outside' for a reason. Wherever Mobius was, it had to be some kind of fake place. Did that mean someone made it? And if so, who had that kind of power? Clearly some things in Mobius were of the supernatural variety. Maybe some kind of otherworldly being made Mobius as a way for it to help humans. The Elites had to know something about that, but he wondered if they would ever be willing to tell him.

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There was no use thinking about it now. It didn't matter to Judai anyway. He was going to leave as soon as possible and that was what he needed to focus on.

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On the third floor, in the student council room, the four Elites sat at a large table together. In the middle of the table was a cat bed. Sleeping inside was a small purple creature. It appeared catlike, but with raccoon hands and a large crystal at the end of its tail. Standing before the Elites was the principal, giving out the daily report.

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"Now, let's see here…" The man continued. "There was a Digihead report in class 2-5. The fourth one this _week_."

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"Fourth? What's going on with everyone?" O'Brien wondered.

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"Do you think we should do something to lift everyone's spirits? Like a pep rally maybe?" Johan suggested.

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"Ooh, I like the sound of that." Jim agreed.

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"I don't think there's any reason for us to worry about that yet." Amon commented.

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"Can you really be so sure about that? Usually there's a Digihead maybe once a month. There's been four just this week." O'Brien rebutted.

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"I mean, I think we should be more worried about the rats in our basement first." Amon clarified.

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"We have rats? And a basement?" Jim questioned.

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___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Jim…" Amon groaned.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Ehehe, not the time for joking?" Jim nervously rubbed the back of his head.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"But… we still can't confirm anything like that is actually going on…" Johan said.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Which is why we need to take a more active role. Lady Ruby chose us as her proxies for a reason. If someone's trying to start something in Mobius then we need to cut them off at the source." Amon explained.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

The other three glanced at each other.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Do you think that new guy has something to do with this?" O'Brien suggested.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Judai? He just got here though. How could he have something to do with an issue that's been going on the whole week?" Johan wondered.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Hm, maybe he's not the source… but maybe he's another symptom. If he came here without memories, what if it's the same thing for the next kid? And then the next, and then the next." Jim considered.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"But who, or what, would have the power to do that?" O'Brien questioned.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

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"Are the rats getting stronger, perhaps? Or did we underestimate them?" Amon thought aloud.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

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"Lady Ruby, any words of wisdom?" Johan requested.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

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The creature asleep on the table didn't budge.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"Guess she's still tired. Best to let her rest, we can ask her later. Don't need Mobius collapsing on us after all." Jim advised.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

"That's the least of our worries…" Amon muttered as his eyes focused on the door.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

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As the conversation died down, a gray haired boy on the other side of the door walked away.

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

______ _ _

___**______****__** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ ** _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you look up flower meanings when they're mentioned! I spent a lot of time going over many types of flowers to find the right ones! Also sorry it's so info dumpy. It is the first chapter though and there was a lot to go over considering this is a whole new universe with a lot going on with it.
> 
> I have the next chapter done already and I'll post it within the coming days. Don't know when specifically. Just depends on my impulse vs self control ratio I guess. I don't wanna post it immediately and then not have a new chapter to post for a long time.


	2. Welcome to Papiko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was so painful waiting for Friday afternoon to post this. Anyway you would think listening to the TCE soundtrack while writing would give me motivation, but no. It just distracts me. It's too good. I can't focus with it on. Reina Ueda cry-singing to techno pop in my ear for 2 hours straight is very hypnotic... I don't know what techno pop is...
> 
> So. Forgot to mention last chapter but I cannot for the life of me remember if Sho uses honorifics for Asuka in the anime and I was too lazy to go back and check so I just went with -san cuz that's what he says in the manga. I don't pay attention to them too often and I tend to forget them sometimes so I really should make like a chart or something for what everyone calls each other. It's too much for my idiot brain to keep track of on its own.
> 
> **Chapter Specific Warnings: (skip for no spoilers or if you don't care)**
> 
> ****  
> **Always feel free to tell me about something that needs to be tagged that I might have missed or didn't consider!**
> 
> -Implied/Referenced CSA  
> -Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault

"Woooow!! This place is huge!!" Judai exclaimed.

"Well, it is a city. Just because Mobius isn't real doesn't mean it's tiny." Sho said.

The pair had stepped outside the school entrance, where Judai finally got a good look at the sun and sky. It was bright and blinding, but the wind felt nice. It was almost like there was no way Mobius could be fake. The city skyline went as far back as Judai's eyes could see. He wondered how much was explorable. There was too much to check out and he didn't know where to start.

"So, what all is there to look at?" Judai asked.

"I hope you realize being here isn't a vacation…" Sho mumbled. "Anyway, uh, there's the station square, the shopping center, the hot springs, the public library, the amusement park, and a few other places. Mobius really is only the city so it doesn't feel like much once you get used to it."

"What's out past the city? Like, is this place in a bubble, or…?" Judai trailed off.

Sho shook his head. "No one really tries to check. There's nothing but woods out west and the bridge that leads to the mainland is always closed. Although, hm… I wonder what would happen if someone tried to swim across."

Judai got a big smile on his face.

"I will drown you myself if you try that, Aniki." Sho threatened.

"Ooh, you do got some bite to ya, huh?" Judai remarked.

Sho flinched. "S-sorry. It's a natural response."

Judai just laughed. "I'm sure there's a good reason for it."

"You really do seem too cheerful about all this." Sho noted.

Judai rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I guess I am over the initial shock. And that fight with Asuka freaked me out badly enough that I'm ready to relax now that I'm outside. Oh! Are you okay from that? I didn't even think about the fact that you and Manjoume got tossed around too."

"Huh? Oh, uh… I-I'm fine, really. I'm surprised it didn't hurt worse too." Sho said.

"Hm… does pain just hurt less in Mobius?" Judai wondered.

"I… never actually thought about that. Aside from a few minor scrapes and bruises I've never gotten any bad injuries here. I guess I wouldn't have noticed if that's the case then." Sho responded.

"Good to know I'm allowed to be a little reckless with no consequences then!" Judai said.

"N-no! Aniki, no!!" Sho warned.

"You can't stop me, Sho!" Judai shouted as he started running away.

The shorter teen followed after him as they ran off school campus. Sho couldn't keep up for long and soon lost track of Judai. He realized he was near the station so he headed to the square. Thankfully he quickly spotted the back of Judai's distinct hair and ran up to the other teen, taking a moment to catch his breath after all the running.

"Don't run off like that, Aniki! You don't know where you're going." Sho scolded.

He realized Judai wasn't paying attention to him and the brunet's eyes were fixated on something in the middle of the square. Sho looked over to see what appeared to be a confrontation. Even other people around were watching it. There was a tough looking guy with a yellow bandanna on his head grabbing another guy by his uniform jacket. A young girl with long dark purple hair was yelling at him too.

"You're gonna leave her alone and never talk to her again or it'll be your skull smashed against the ground, don! Ya hear me?! Do you hear me?!" The bigger guy threatened.

"Get off me, man! It's none of your business!" The other guy shouted back.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!! He didn't do anything wrong!" The girl begged with tears forming in her eyes.

Sho looked from the scene to Judai and realized what was running through the brunet's head. "Aniki, don't. You shouldn't meddle in other people's business."

Judai didn't show any sign of hearing Sho.

_"Leave him alone! He didn't do anything wrong!"_

Judai felt the spike in his chest ache for a moment.

"Man, it's creeps like you that I hate so much! Bastards like you should just die, saurus!" The bigger guy yelled, static crackling around his hands.

"Then do something about it, why don't ya?! Or are ya all talk?" The other egged him on.

The big guy practically growled and reared his fist back, ready to punch the other guy. He clenched his eyes shut, bracing for the impact, and the girl turned around.

"A-aniki?!"

"Hey! What gives, don?!"

The guy opened his eyes to see Judai holding the big guy's wrist and keeping his hand back. The glare they shared with each other looked like it could kill.

"Let him go. Whatever the problem is, beating it out of him isn't the answer." Judai stated.

"Oh, so now you're gonna defend him too? Tch, typical. People always protect the pervs and never the guy that gets rightfully mad about it, don." The big guy complained.

He released the other guy and yanked his arm away from Judai.

"Sorry, you're not worth all this trouble." The other said before running off.

"Huh?! B-but wait!" The girl exclaimed as she turned back around. "You're my prince charming!!"

"Damn it, stay away from guys like that!" The big guy shouted.

"Stop trying to tell me what to do, Kenzan!" The girl shouted back.

"Well you clearly can't make these decisions for yourself, saurus!" He yelled.

"Agh, you make everything worse!" Static crackled around the girl's waist.

"Look man, whatever happened, you're making a little girl upset." Judai said. "At the very least calm down first then talk things out later."

"What do you know about any of this, don? Don't butt in on things that don't involve you." The guy shoved Judai in the chest as he walked away.

Judai stumbled a bit, but kept his footing. He just watched as the guy disappeared down the sidewalk. Sho finally ran up to Judai, looking frantic.

"Are you okay, Aniki?! I told you not to get involved!" Sho worriedly exclaimed.

"Ah, I'm fine. But…" Judai turned to the girl still standing there. "Are you alright? You're not hurt or anything, right?"

She looked up at Judai with wide brown eyes. The way he stood there, sounding so worried about her, made her heart flutter. The wind blew his jacket and hair, causing him to lift a hand up to push it behind his ear.

"M-my prince…" She muttered. "Uh- uh, I mean… ehehe… I'm okay now. Thank you for saving me. That was so heroic of you. You must be so brave and strong."

Judai and Sho just stared at the girl.

"Uh, well… glad you're okay. I'm Yuki Judai and this is Marufuji Sho. You are?" Judai introduced himself.

She flashed a curious expression at Sho before focusing back on Judai. "Saotome Rei, class 1-4, and totally single now since that jerk, Kenzan, drove off my last boyfriend."

The two boys glanced at each other.

"What was that about, anyway?" Judai wondered.

"Ugh, Kenzan keeps stalking me and scaring off every guy I date. He thinks he's protecting me from weirdos but it's just making him be the weirdo!" Rei explained with a huff. "By the way, Judai-sama, your name is familiar, but I've never seen you before. And I would totally recognize your face. Why is that?"

"Judai…" He started.

"...-sama." Sho finished.

"Uhh, well I guess it's been goin' around that I asked the Elites to send me home. Is that why? I only just got here." Judai assumed.

"Oh! That's totally where! I knew the guy who did that had to be sooo awesome! And I was right! You're like a knight-in-shining armor, hehe!" Rei praised. "I sure could use one right about now too. I bet Kenzan'll jump any guy he sees within twenty feet of me!"

"Oh, so… you want me to… guard you or something?" Judai assumed.

"Exactly! Ya see, I wanted to go to Papiko with my boyfriend. He was gonna buy me sooo much stuff, but you saw what Kenzan did. And now I have no one to go with me _and_ Kenzan to worry about. And you wouldn't want a defenseless young maiden to be out all by herself with a big scary guy lurking about, would you?" Rei batted her eyes and swung her shoulders, obviously trying to look more demure.

Sho grabbed Judai's arm and turned the brunet around. "Anikiii, I have a bad feeling about her. I don't think this is a good idea."

"It's a little strange to me too, but… she _is_ a defenseless young maiden. And that guy did almost punch another dude in the face. If he comes back he may cause more trouble. I've got my Catharsis Effect though, so I can definitely defend her. Besides, I can check out this Papiko place too. Uh, what's Papiko?" Judai responded.

"Papiko's the shopping center… But, do you mean the whole sword thing you did? I know it didn't hurt Asuka-san, but maybe don't use that thing on other people again. You might actually end up killing someone next time." Sho suggested.

"Ah, don't worry. I won't stab anyone again. I'll just scare any bad guys with it." Judai assured him.

"Hey, what are you whispering about? You'll go with me, right?!" Rei asked, butting herself in between them.

"Uh, yeah. I'll go with you, Rei-chan. I wanna see Papiko too." Judai agreed.

"Kyaaa!! Yes, score! A date with my new prince charming already!!" Rei cheered.

"What?" Judai didn't quite catch what she was rambling about.

"Nothiiinng!!" Rei exclaimed.

Sho just narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hehe! Now let's go, Judai-sama! C'mon, I'll show you the way. You are new after all." She giggled and latched onto Judai's arm, pulling him along with her.

"Hey, wait up! Don't tug Aniki like that!" Sho shouted as he chased after them.

"So that guy was a perv too, huh. Tch, figures. Rei-chan can never look out for herself, saurus." Kenzan muttered to himself from around the corner.

Asuka, Junko, and Momoe sat around the fountain in the school courtyard. Asuka continued to glance down her shirt at the small spike before buttoning it back up.

"We're glad you're back to normal, Asuka-sama." Junko said.

"Yeah, you were real scary!" Momoe added.

Asuka just glanced at them. "Judai said… I tried to kill him…"

"Tried to kill us too." Junko told her.

"Huh?!" Asuka's eyes widened. "Geez, what overcame me? Ugh, I guess I have been thinking about it too much."

"You know, you never told us you wanted to leave." Momoe said.

"Yeah, sorry. I just… didn't want you guys to worry. I wanted to make sure Nii-san would come with me first too." Asuka said.

"When was the last time you saw him? I haven't seen him in a while." Junko wondered.

"About a week. I know he does his own thing, but… I haven't even heard anyone talking about him lately. I wonder what he's up to." Asuka muttered.

"Don't worry, Asuka-sama! He'll join you and that Judai guy in the Go-Home Club!" Momoe assured her.

Asuka chuckled. "That sounds ridiculous, but… I honestly hope so. If Judai's leaving soon then I don't have much time to talk to him."

Junko stood up. "We should take the time we have to find him then! He hangs out at Papiko a lot so maybe he's there! And if not then someone there's probably seen him recently I bet!"

"A trip to Papiko would be nice actually!" Momoe agreed. "After that whole ordeal I think a shopping trip is just what we need. I've been looking for new tights to go with that skirt I bought last time too."

Asuka thought for a moment before standing up. "Yeah, looking for Nii-san and getting my mind off things is probably best."

"Then let's go! Papiko awaits!!" Junko cheered.

Papiko, an expansive outdoor shopping district with countless stores. It's a common stop for plenty of girls on their way home since many shops sell a variety of cute and popular clothes and accessories. Even those who care about popularity and enjoy attention find themselves at Papiko, where all the gossip happens after school.

Rei pulled Judai through the entrance arch of Papiko, but barely gave him a moment to look around. It seemed like she already knew exactly where she wanted to take him.

"Okay, first we'll go to NeverLand, then I wanna buy some shoes at Thorn. I also heard the dreamy-cute line at Tokimeki*Reverie has some new accessories so I wanna stop by there too. And then-"

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up, Rei-chan." Judai interrupted and stopped in his tracks. "That sounds like a lot. Are you sure you really need to bring me along for all this?"

"Yes, of course! The longer I'm here the more likely it is that Kenzan'll come back! And a defenseless young maiden always needs a big, strong, handsome knight to keep her safe from bad guys!" Rei proclaimed.

"Big…? Strong…? Handsome…?" Judai glanced down at himself then looked at Sho. "Sho, what do I look like?"

"Eh?!" Sho went wide eyed for a moment then looked away from Judai. "Uh, uh, uuuhh… l-like, like… like a goofball."

"Goofball… I'm sure that has its perks!" Judai responded.

"Enough of that, I don't wanna waste time! Let's go!" Rei complained and tugged on Judai's arm.

She dragged Judai from store to store with Sho following after them. She tried on dozens of clothes and accessories and strutted them in front of Judai, asking for his opinion over and over again. There wasn't much he could say except for a generic 'that looks nice'. Rei begged for Judai to be a gentleman and buy things for her, but with no money to his name that he knew about, Judai had to resort to begging Sho to pay for her things, which he reluctantly did. He even carried all of Rei's bags since Judai was occupied with being dragged around.

"C-can we take a break, please? My arms are gonna fall off…" Sho whined and sat down on a bench.

"I just have one last stop at Cosmo×Queen, then we're done!" Rei said.

"It's the last stop. You just stay there, Sho. It'll be over soon." Judai said.

"Thank you. I think I'm gonna pass out." Sho muttered.

Rei pulled Judai into the jewelry store while Sho rested on the bench. He adjusted his glasses and resorted to people watching, not exactly being comfortable with the environment at Papiko. Across the street, he thought he saw that Kenzan guy walk inside a store, but he couldn't be too sure.

Inside Cosmo×Queen, Rei dragged Judai up to the counter where rings were on display. Judai glanced around, feeling awkward in such a high end looking store.

"Oh, oh! Isn't this one pretty? Don't you think it would make a perfect wedding ring?!" Rei suggested.

Judai glanced at the ring. "Uhhh, sure. Why not?"

The attendant approached the duo from the other side of the counter.

"Ah, looking for a ring for your girlfriend, sir?" She inquired.

"Huh? Oh, uh, she's not my-"

"Don't you mean fiancée, hehe!" Rei corrected as she latched onto Judai's arm again.

"Fiancée…? What's that- no, wait! Hold up a minute, Rei-chan." Judai backed up, causing Rei to let go of him. "I'm starting to think you've got the wrong idea here. I'm only guarding you. I'm not your boyfriend. I'm sorry, but… I'm not interested in that kinda thing. I just wanna go home."

Rei stammered with her words for a moment before shaking her head. "B-b-but you're my prince charming! My knight-in-shining armor! It's destined to be, I know it!"

"Didn't you call that last guy your prince charming? Not every guy that's nice to you is 'the one'." Judai said.

Tears welled up in Rei's eyes and she bolted past Judai to run out of the store. Judai stood there confused for a moment before quickly chasing after her.

"R-Rei-chan! Wait!" Judai called out.

Rei turned around in the street and Sho got up from the bench, completely confused on what happened.

"Stay away from me!" She yelled, static crackling around her waist. "You're supposed to treat me like a princess! You're supposed to pamper me and give me everything I want! And then- and then…" Rei couldn't keep shouting due to the tears pouring down her face.

"Aniki, what did you do?!" Sho questioned.

"I have no idea! I just told her I wasn't her boyfriend!" Judai frantically responded.

" _Bastaaaaarrrddd!!_ "

Judai and Sho looked ahead to see Kenzan running at them from seemingly nowhere. Hearing his voice, Rei turned around and tried to block his path.

"Y-you really h-have to be here?! N-now of all times?!" She complained through her tears.

Kenzan stopped in front of her. "Yes!! I knew this guy was just more bad news, saurus! Stop letting these pervs near you, damn it!!"

"I-I'm not…" Judai trailed off, deciding it was best not to say anything yet.

"You keep calling them that! Why are you so hung up on who I date or who I talk to or who even looks in my general direction?! It's none of your business, Kenzan!" Rei shouted.

"It is my business when it happened on my street, saurus!"

Rei's eyes widened and she completely froze.

"I'm not gonna let anyone else hurt ya ever again! Not when I can actually do something about it this time, don!"

Kenzan put his hands on Rei's shoulders as the tears came back to her eyes. She felt her whole body starting to shake, the static around her becoming stronger.

"Y-you… you know… you know what h-happened… You know…" Rei muttered.

"I do. We lived in the same neighborhood. The news never said your name or showed your face, but I saw it online after ya went missin', don. I didn't recognize ya right away though. Never thought this'd where ya be either." Kenzan explained.

"You know… I don't- I don't want anyone to know… You know… You know, you know, you know, you know!!" Rei repeated over and over again and grabbed at her head.

_"Digihead alert! Help her, kuri!"_

__

Judai could finally see the static crackling all over Rei's body.

__

"A-again?! Damn it, Sho get back! It's happening again!" Judai warned.

__

"Huh? Wha- you mean like with Asuka-san?" Sho questioned.

__

"Rei-chan? You okay?" Kenzan asked.

__

"Heeey!! Kenzan, get back!" Judai shouted.

__

"Eh? Hell nah! You get back! This isn't your-"

__

" _Aaaaaaaaahhhhh!!_ "

__

A pulse emitted from Rei's body, sending Kenzan flying back and leaving him lying on the ground. Judai's body reacted on reflex and he somehow found himself standing in front of Sho with his sword blocking the pulse.

__

"A-aniki?!" Sho called out, grabbing the back of Judai's jacket.

__

"Get inside somewhere, Sho! I'll handle this!" Judai advised.

__

Sho hesitated before nodding and fleeing inside the jewelry store.

__

The pulse finally faded and Rei stood there, panting. A black mist rode up her left arm, only covering her ring finger, and a handle materialized in her hand. A chain formed link by link from one end until stopping and shaping into a ball. It grew bigger and bigger until it was practically twice the size of Rei. It kept undulating, like it was unsure what shape it really wanted to form.

__

**"You know… you know… now everyone knows… everyone… knows…"**

_****_

"Rei-chan! Snap out of it!" Judai shouted, already sure that wouldn't work.

_****_

**"Aaaahhh!! Love me, damn it!!"**

_******** _

Rei swung the giant ball with ease and Judai just barely managed to run out of the way. The ball knocked into the bench, sending all her bags flying.

_******** _

"Hey, I paid for all that!" Sho shouted from inside the store.

_******** _

"Not the time, Sho!" Judai shouted back. "Hey, Kenzan! You okay?!"

_******** _

Kenzan groaned and struggled to sit up, rubbing his sore arm. "Ugh, the hell?"

_******** _

**"You know. You can't know. You can't!"**

_********** ** _

He looked at Rei with wide eyes. "R-Rei-chan…? R-Rei-chan!! What the hell happened to her?!"

_********** ** _

"I don't know, but I think I can handle this! Just go hide somewhere!" Judai advised.

_********** ** _

"Hell no!" Kenzan got to his feet. "If anyone's helpin' Rei-chan, it's me, don!!"

_********** ** _

**"Kenzan knows!! Aaahhh!"**

_************ ** ** _

Rei swung the ball again and Kenzan managed to duck in time for it to fly over his head.

_************ ** ** _

"How the hell can she lift that thing…?" He wondered.

_************ ** ** _

"Just go!! This is way too dangerous! You'll get hurt! I'm the only one that can do something!" Judai shouted.

_************ ** ** _

Static crackled around Kenzan's hands. "I'm not… lettin' anyone help Rei-chan but me! No one! No one!! It's the promise I made and I'm stickin' to it, saurus!"

_************ ** ** _

_"He can achieve Catharsis, kuri! Do it, now!"_

_********__** ** ** ** _

"Huh?! But, how?! I have to do it for him?" Judai glanced at his sword, recalling the moment he stabbed Asuka and how it left a spike in her chest. "Maybe… maybe it'll work…"

_********__** ** ** ** _

**"Raaagghhh!!"**

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

Rei swung the ball again, this time aimed at Judai. The brunet grabbed his sword's hilt with both hands and jumped up onto the ball, using it to propel himself over Rei. He aimed his sword at Kenzan, who tried to back away.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"Sorry if this hurts, Ke-"

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

Rei swung the ball over her head and slammed it into Judai.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"Gaaaahh!!"

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

The brunet got thrown through the wall of a store and bashed through the other side, colliding with a clothing rack in the next store over.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"Aaaahhh!!"

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"J-Judai?!"

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

Judai groaned and opened his eyes. Somehow both the impact from the ball and his collision with two walls didn't kill him. Pain really was minimal in Mobius. His vision straightened out and Judai finally realized it was Asuka looking down at him. Junko and Momoe were clinging onto each other on his other side. Miraculously, he landed right in between the trio.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"A-Asuka… Cathar...sis… Effect." He barely managed to mumble out.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"Catharsis… Effect…?" Asuka repeated.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

She noticed Judai was gripping a black sword in his hand and the spike in his chest was poking out through his clothes. Anemone flowers surrounded it and a few petals laid scattered on the ground around him.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"I can't-... ugh…" Judai groaned as he struggled to get to his feet.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

Asuka grabbed his arm and helped pull him up. She let him use her as support until he was stable enough to stand on his own.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"I need help… I can't stop her on my own. Sho and… K-Kenzan… are still back there." Judai explained.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"Can't stop who, Judai?" Asuka asked.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"R-Rei-chan." He said.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"...Rei… Saotome…?"

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

Junko and Momoe shared a confused look with each other, feeling as though that name was familiar.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"Y-yeah, how did…"

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

Asuka looked through the hole in the wall. It was just a bit bigger than Judai's size since he came barreling through the wall. She couldn't see outside very well, let alone through the other store.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"I've heard about her around here before. C'mon, let's go. Junko, Momoe, stay here so you're not in danger." Asuka advised.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"But Asuka-sama-"

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"Please, I don't want you two getting hurt." She cut them off.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

They both sighed, then nodded.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"It's probably best we go around. Follow me." Asuka said, taking the lead.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

"'Kay." Judai agreed, following her out of the store.

_********_****_ ** ** ** ** _

**"Raaagghh!! You can't know! You can't! Kenzan can't know!"**

_********_******** _ ** ** ** ** _

Rei swung the ball at the bench and Kenzan dived out of the way just before it got smashed to pieces.

_********_******** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Damn it, Rei-chan! What can I do?! How can I help?!" Kenzan exclaimed, mainly to himself.

_********_******** _ ** ** ** ** _

He clenched his fists and groaned, static crackling around them. He felt so helpless. He spent so much time trying to help Rei, and yet when she needed help the most, there was nothing he could do. He had no idea what happened to Judai, so he was all alone. He didn't know what he could do to stop her. The giant ball she was swinging around might end up killing him, and he didn't want to die in Mobius. Not before he was ready to go home.

_********_******** _ ** ** ** ** _

**"Kenzan… Kenzan can't know. Everyone knows… No one can know!!"**

_********_********** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Rei threw her arm back to get ready to swing the ball again, but a shoe hitting the back of her head made her stop.

_********_********** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"H-hey, Rei-chan! Pick on someone your own size!"

_********_********** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

She turned around to see Sho standing by the scattered bags and holding the matching shoe in his hand. He looked scared, like it was taking all the strength he had not to pass out on the spot.

_********_********** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

**"You know too. You know… No one can know!!"**

_********_************ ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Rei lifted her hand up to get ready to swing the ball. Sho felt fear creep over his whole body. He was too afraid to move. Judai was missing and Kenzan was too far away. All he had was a shoe in his hand. He didn't have a Catharsis Effect like Judai. He was so foolish for acting on impulse. What did he think he was doing? He was defenseless against Rei. Static crackled over his shoulders and he held his hands over his head despite knowing it wouldn't do him any good.

_********_************ ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Reeeiii!!" Kenzan yelled.

_********_************ ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

_"I have just enough power… to help you, kuri!"_

_********_********__** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

In the blink of an eye, Kenzan found himself surrounded by black mist. Before him appeared a brown ball of fuzz. Eyes opened to reveal big purple eyes and wings popped out of the back, followed by green claws. His eyes widened and he couldn't get a word out from shock.

_********_********__** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

_"This is the last time I can act alone, kuri. I don't have the power needed to affect this plane any more. Now, make it count! Let it out! Let it all out, kuri!"_

_********_********____ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"...Let it… out? Let it all out…" Kenzan looked from the creature to his hands and punched a fist in his open palm. "Gaaaaahhh!! What the hell is going on?! What's up with all this?! What's wrong with Rei-chan and why can't I help her, saurus?! That's all I wanted to do! That's all I ever wanna do! I wanna help people but I'm so weak and pathetic! I even had to go and ruin the only chance I ever had, don! I'm such an idiot!! I'll never be able to help anyone!"

_********_********____ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

_********_********____ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"I fucked everything up for myself and now I can't help anyone when they really need it!!"

_********_********____ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

A sharp pain shot through Kenzan's chest and his breath hitched. It was like someone stabbed him in the heart. He looked down to see a spike jutting out of his chest, right over his heart. He noticed it looked the same as the one poking out of Judai. The strangest part was the small hyacinth flowers around it. It was almost as if the flowers were coming out of the wound. He wanted to touch it, but he finally noticed the weight in his hands and lifted them up to see large pitch black gauntlets covering his hands. The ends had spikes and the backs looked as though they had rockets. Armor protected the top side of his arms as well.

_********_********____ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

_"Kuri, kuri! Catharsis Effect achieved! Now go buy some time before it's too late!"_

_********_********_____ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

The creature then poofed out of existence and the world shattered, bringing Kenzan back to reality.

_********_********_____ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

**"You can't know!!"**

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"A-aniki!!" Sho called out.

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"That's enough, Rei-chan!!"

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Just as the ball was about to come down on Sho, it cracked, and he looked up. It shattered into millions of pieces, revealing Kenzan on the other side. He had launched himself at the ball and punched it so hard it broke. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop himself thanks to the rocket boost and he collided right into Sho, launching them both back and onto the ground.

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Ugh… g-get off me! You're heavy!" Sho whined and repeatedly hit Kenzan over the head with the shoe still in his hands.

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Ow, ow! Hey, knock it off, don!" Kenzan shouted and got to his knees. "You okay?"

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Sho sat up and rubbed his head. "I… I can't believe I'm still alive… Ah, things really _don't_ hurt too bad in Mobius. Thank goodness."

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Then that means a lil' bit of gettin' knocked around won't be so bad, saurus. We might have a chance now." Kenzan said as he stood up.

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"We? You're the one with the Catharsis Effect! You broke that thing anyway, I doubt we'll have any more problems now." Sho responded.

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Catharsis… Effect?" Kenzan looked down at the gauntlets on his hands.

_********_********___****_ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

**"Kenzaaaaann!!"**

_********_********___******** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Both boys looked back at Rei, who was standing there surrounded by the shards of the ball she carried. All the pieces on the ground shook before sliding closer to Rei and gathering at the end of the chain. Before they knew it, the ball had pieced itself back together and was as good as new.

_********_********___******** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Uh… okay… I-I guess we still have problems…" Sho muttered. "Ohhh… where's Aniki…?"

_********_********___******** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"We don't need him. We got this." Kenzan said as he smashed his gauntlets together.

_********_********___******** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"There you go again with that 'we'." Sho grumbled.

_********_********___******** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

**"You know! You know, you know, you know, you know!!"**

_********_********___********** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Rei swung the ball again and Kenzan and Sho jumped out of the way.

_********_********___********** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Anikiiii!! Where are yooouuu?!" Sho called out.

_********_********___********** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"I'm here, Sho!"

_********_********___********** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Sho and Kenzan looked up while Rei turned around. They saw Judai and Asuka in the air together, coming down for a landing. Judai brandishing his sword and Asuka with her Catharsis Effect activated as well in the form of razor sharp blades on her feet that looked like ice skates.

_********_********___********** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

**"You! You know too!"**

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Rei swung the ball at Judai, knocking him into Asuka and sending them both to the ground.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Aaahh!! Judai!" Asuka yelled.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"S-sorry… Maybe announcing myself wasn't a good idea." Judai muttered and got to his feet before helping Asuka up.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Welcome back, Aniki! Now it's four against one, don." Kenzan greeted him.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Stop including me!!" Sho complained. "Wait… d-did you just call him Aniki?!"

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Uh, yeah? It's what you were sayin', so-"

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"No! No way! Only I can call him Aniki!" Sho cut him off.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Oh, yeah?! And who made that a rule?! Why should you get the monopoly on Aniki rights?!" Kenzan argued.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Because I called him Aniki first so I get to say so!!" Sho shouted.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Well you can't stop me!!" Kenzan shouted back.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Really, you two? Can't you settle this later?!" Judai exclaimed.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Ignore them, Judai. We'll handle Rei-chan." Asuka said.

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Judai turned to her and nodded. "Yeah, let's go, Asuka! The Go-Home Club'll stop you, Rei-chan!!"

_********_********___************ ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

**"A-Asuka-senpai… Asuka-senpai knows too! Asuka-senpai knows too!! Aaaaahhh!!"**

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Rei swung the ball, but Judai and Asuka jumped over it in time.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Asuka-senpai? Do you two know each other?" Judai questioned.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Not particularly. We've only met a few times, but she really doesn't like me." Asuka answered.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

The ball came at them both from Asuka's side and she kicked it back.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"That's weird. You seem likeable to me." Judai said.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Asuka glanced at Judai with a hint of surprise on her face. "You don't know me, Judai."

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"You and I make up the Go-Home Club. I'll get to know you soon enough." Judai responded as he countered the ball coming at him with his sword.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Asuka simply stared at him.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Jump!" He told her.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

They both jumped out of the way of the ball. Rei used the momentum to swing the ball up at them.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Kenzan! Now!!" Judai ordered.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Huh? What- Oh! I got this, saurus!!" Kenzan exclaimed.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

He charged up his gauntlets and the rockets launched him up and ahead. He bashed straight into the ball and shattered it again, but unfortunately kept going through one of the already destroyed storefronts.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Asuka!" Judai called out.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Right!"

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Asuka twirled and held a leg out as she descended to the ground, striking Rei in the hand and causing the girl to release the handle. Asuka's blade pinned Rei to the ground, leaving her open.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Up above, Judai closed his eyes and tightened his grip on his sword.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Okay… here goes."

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

His brown eyes opened and Judai rushed down at Rei.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Sorry if this hurts, Rei-chan!"

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

His sword plunged through her heart and deep into the ground. Yellow chrysanthemums popped out of the wound.

_********_********___************** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

**"Gah!"**

_********_********___**************** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

_"Catharsis Effect achieved, kuri!"_

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"R-Rei-chaaan!!" Kenzan yelled as he emerged from the wreckage of the store.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"She'll be okay! I'm pretty sure this is how it works!" Judai tried to assure Kenzan as he took his sword out of Rei.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"You bastard!!" Kenzan shouted as he ran up to Judai.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"I said-"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Judai was cut off by Kenzan punching him square in the face. The brunet slid against the ground and opted to just lay there, his sword and wings fading away. Sho ran up to check on him.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Aniki!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Judai!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Get away from her!" Kenzan shouted at Asuka.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

He swung at her next, but she was fast enough to jump back in time.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Stop! Rei-chan'll be okay! She will!" Asuka said.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"He stabbed her, damn it! She won't be okay!" He exclaimed.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"K-Kenzan…?"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Kenzan and Asuka froze. It was Rei's voice. He immediately turned to her and ran to her side. His gauntlets faded away as he crouched down.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Rei-chan! Rei-chan, are you okay?!" He frantically asked.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"What… what happened…?" She mumbled out.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Kenzan grabbed her hand as tears welled up in his eyes. "It doesn't matter. You're okay… You're okay."

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Judai finally sat up like nothing happened and just watched Kenzan.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"A-Aniki…?" Sho quietly called out.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Judai glanced at him and smiled. "I'm okay too, Sho. And you?"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Sho pouted, trying to hide the mixture of worry and relief that he felt. He just hugged Judai and buried his face in the brunet's jacket as he nodded. Judai flashed a confused expression before hugging Sho back.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Asuka-samaaaa!!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Asuka-sama!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Asuka looked over to see Junko and Momoe running down the street towards her and waving.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Junko! Momoe!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Asuka skated towards them, but her blades faded away and she practically stumbled before regaining her balance. Junko and Momoe reached her and jumped at their friend, trapping her in a hug. Asuka couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Kenzan… you know…" Rei mumbled.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"So? W-what? Do ya think I think any less of ya, don? It doesn't matter what you think you did… you didn't deserve it. And ya sure as hell don't deserve any of these piece of shit shitty pervs that keep comin' around ya!" Kenzan proclaimed.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Rei's eyes widened a bit. "But… but they're the only ones… that pay attention to me…"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"No they aren't, damn it! I pay attention to you!" He shouted.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Only because of what he did!" Rei yelled and covered her eyes with her arm so Kenzan wouldn't see her cry.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"That doesn't matter, Rei! You have worth beyond what he led you to believe! We- we went to the same school! I saw your name on your year's exam charts, saurus. You're really smart. Smarter than me too. Sometimes I'd see you around the neighborhood with a whole group of girls. Ya had a lot of friends. You all smiled a lot… I'm sure they miss ya. I'm sure… they miss us both…" Kenzan's grip on Rei's hand tightened a bit.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Rei let out a choked sob. "I… I wanna go hoooome!!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

The sound of footsteps made Kenzan look up. Judai approached them and stood beside Rei.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Rei-chan…" She moved her arm aside to see Judai holding a hand out to her. "Join the Go-Home Club with me and Asuka. We'll all go home together."

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"The… the Go-Home club… I… _wanna go home_!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

She grabbed Judai's hand and he and Kenzan pulled Rei up to her feet. Kenzan stood up beside her, keeping an eye on her as she stumbled a bit.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"That makes three, then." Sho said, standing next to Judai.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Four, actually." Kenzan corrected, making everyone stare at him. "I… I wanna go home now too. I… realized some stuff, saurus."

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Then welcome aboard, Rei-chan, Kenzan." Judai said with a smile.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Kenzan suddenly slung an arm over Judai's shoulder. "Sorry 'bout the trouble, Aniki! You're a good guy, even if none of this crap makes any sense."

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Sho glared at Kenzan, who responded with a smug expression.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"It's alright. Everything worked out in the end. I can explain what I know too, although… it's pretty much next to nothing I guess." Judai said.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Next to nothing's better than nothing." Kenzan noted.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Oh, Rei-chan, can you come here a moment?" Asuka requested as she pulled away from her friends.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"A-Asuka-senpai?! What are you doing here?!" Rei exclaimed.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"It's a long story. Please? I need to check something… _away_ from the boys." She said as she side eye the three boys.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Judai and Sho flinched, then quickly turned around, leaving Kenzan confused. Rei hesitated before walking up to Asuka.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Can I check your chest for just a second?" Asuka asked.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"M-my chest?" Rei nervously questioned.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

She placed a hand over her chest and tensed up when she felt something new. Asuka reached out and undid the first button, which Rei didn't object to.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"H-hey! What do ya think you're doin'?!" Kenzan exclaimed.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Look away, Kenzan!" Rei shouted.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Kenzan flinched and turned around with the other two.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Asuka noticed the same small spike over Rei's chest that she and Judai both had. Junko and Momoe leaned in close in astonishment.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Rei-chan has one too!" Momoe announced.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"It's the… Catharsis Effect, right?" Junko questioned.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Yeah, I think so." Judai said, still keeping his back to them.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Wait! Catharsis Effect?!" Kenzan repeated. "That's what that little thing said!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Little thing? Hold on, like a little furry monster with wings?!" Judai described.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Yeah! That thing!!" Kenzan said.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"So I'm not crazy! You saw it too! That's why you had a Catharsis Effect too even though I didn't stab you!" Judai explained.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Wait… that's why ya came at me before, saurus?! And why ya stabbed Rei-chan?!" Kenzan questioned.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Yeah, I thought that was the only way it worked. At least, that's how it worked with Asuka. I guess it can be done either way." Judai said.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"I dunno about that. The lil' thing also said that was the last time it could act. That it… had no power left after that." Kenzan explained.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Judai thought for a moment. "Well, let's just hope no one else needs it at a time when I can't stab them. A-and that I don't have to stab any more people either!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Wait, if Kenzan can do the Catharsis thingy too, then shouldn't he have a spike too?" Rei wondered as she buttoned her shirt back up and turned around.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Oh, I did earlier." Kenzan tugged the collar of his tank top down to reveal a small spike. "Well, shit. There ya go, don."

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Catharsis confirmed. Now if only we knew what it meant. And what the little creature means too. It must have used its power to give it to you and me, but I gave it to Asuka and Rei-chan myself." Judai said.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"I wonder if the rest of us can give it to others too. I imagine that would be difficult though, since your sword is the only weapon between us that's really meant for stabbing." Asuka theorized.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"I would rather no one go around trying. I don't even know if it can work by me just, like, stabbing Sho right now. Maybe it can only be when they're in that weird state." Judai considered.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Yeah, please don't stab me to test out a theory, Aniki. In fact, just don't stab me at all." Sho said.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"I hope I never have to…" Judai mumbled.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Oh, do you not have it, Chibi? And the other girls?" Kenzan wondered.

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"Don't call me Chibi! My name is Marufuji Sho! And no, I don't have a Catharsis Effect. And I don't want one either." Sho angrily responded.

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"Yeesh. Sorry, Marufuji-senpai." Kenzan said.

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"H-huh? U-uh… i-it's fine… K-Kenzan-kun…" Sho muttered and looked away.

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Junko and Momoe giggled slightly.

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"We don't have one either. I'm Makurada Junko."

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"And I'm Hamaguchi Momoe. Nice to meet you both now that the trouble's over, Kenzan-kun, Rei-chan."

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"Oh, I guess you don't know me. I'm Tenjoin Asuka."

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"And I'm Tyranno Kenzan!"

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"Wow… you've really got the dinosaur theme down, huh." Sho remarked.

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"'Course I do! Dino's are the coolest most badass creatures ever to exist, saurus!" Kenzan claimed.

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Rei suddenly gasped. "Wait a minute! You're that kid that used to play with dinosaur toys in his front yard!"

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"You didn't realize that 'til now?!" Kenzan shouted.

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"No!! I completely forgot about you after I stopped seeing you when I'd walk by your house! Did you move or something?!" Rei shouted back.

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"Uh… n-no… I just, stopped playin' in the front yard, don." Kenzan said and rubbed the back of his head.

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"Okay, okay. You two can catch up later. I think I could use a nap after all this." Judai said.

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"Really, Aniki?" Sho muttered.

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"Well this has all happened in just one day for me! And I just got here! It's only been, like, what? Ten hours? I don't even know where I live yet." Judai exclaimed.

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"You have a point." Asuka agreed. "You're still not properly settled in here. And I'd like a break from this one big weird day too."

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"But what about going home? We're the Go-Home Club after all!" Rei protested.

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"I've resigned myself to the fact that that's gonna take a bit of time. Hopefully not too long though. The Elites still want me to get used to this place before deciding I wanna go back. Don't worry though. We are still the Go-Home Club after all. We'll go home, just not right now." Judai clarified.

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"Mn, right." Rei muttered.

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"Wait! Aniki, _you're_ the guy that lost his memories and told the Elites to send him back?!" Kenzan exclaimed in shock.

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"Geez, everyone really does know about that… But, yeah. That's me. I guess I'm already popular, huh?" Judai said with a chuckle.

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"In your dreams, Judai." Asuka commented.

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The rest of the group laughed at him, making Judai pout at Asuka.

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"Oh, I just realized, shouldn't you guys have a club room for the Go-Home Club?" Sho suggested.

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"Huh? Hey, yeah! We should! We all gotta meet up somewhere, right?" Judai agreed.

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"Hm… how about your classroom? 2-5, right? You're the founder so it should be where you are." Asuka suggested.

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"2-5! Okay, 2-5! Remember that, Kenzan!" Rei said.

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"Huh? Why me? We'd have better luck remembering it if you do it." Kenzan complained.

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"Because I don't wanna, duh! You'll do whatever your favorite little defenseless young maiden wants you to, right?" She responded with a giggle.

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"U-uh… ugh, fine. 2-5, it can't be that hard." Kenzan grumbled.

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"I have a feeling she's just naturally like that." Sho noted and Judai nodded in agreement.

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"We'll see you guys tomorrow then. Uh, for sure this time." Asuka said.

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"You should walk with us, Rei-chan!" Momoe offered.

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"Really?! Sure!" Rei happily accepted.

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"Bye, Judai." Asuka said.

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"Later boys!" Junko said with a wave.

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"Thank you. For everything, Judai-sama, Kenzan!" Rei said and smiled before running off to Asuka.

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"Hey, what about me?! I carried and paid for everything!" Sho complained.

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Rei glanced over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him.

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"Why you little-" Sho reached his hands out and took a step forward, but Judai grabbed him by the back of his jacket to stop him.

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"Leave her alone, she's been through a lot, don." Kenzan advised.

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"We all have!" Sho shouted.

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"Oh, are you coming with, Kenzan?" Judai asked.

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"Well, yeah. All the guys live in one apartment together, ya know. I kinda have to, hah!" He answered.

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"Ah. So this place should fix itself as long as it's empty, yeah? We can just leave and there'll be no problem?" Judai wondered.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Yep. Even though we caused quite the scene, Papiko is huge. There's still dozens of people here, but once it shuts down for the night it'll go back to normal." Sho clarified.

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"That's good. I'd hate to leave it to other people to clean up our mess, but I don't wanna deal with it myself, heh. Anyway, glad to have you in the group, Kenzan. Let's head home, or, uh… well, you know what I mean." Judai said.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Kenzan pat Judai on the back a bit harder than the brunet expected. "Glad to be here too, Aniki! Let's go!"

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"Hey, what did I tell you about calling him Aniki?!" Sho shouted.

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Kenzan suddenly sprinted off and Sho chased after him.

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"Get back here, Aniki-stealer!!" Sho called out.

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"You'll have to catch me to stop me, saurus!!" Kenzan yelled.

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"Hey, wait for Aniki!!" Judai shouted as he followed them.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

The sun soon set in Mobius and most of Papiko cleared out other than a few remaining small groups. After walking through the entrance, the four Elites arrived at the destroyed site and stood around, taking in the sight of the damage.

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"We really are way too late." Johan noted.

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"Ugh, why couldn't we have gotten the report sooner?" O'Brien complained.

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"You know why, because we already got today's report and the NPCs don't prioritize telling us things after that." Amon said.

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Jim walked over to examine the pile of shopping bags.

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"This is the second one today. That's never happened for as long as we've been here." Johan said.

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"Just what is going on lately… There's no way this is simply a string of bad coincidences." O'Brien muttered.

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"Do you think it's as Amon suspects? The rats…?" Johan asked.

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He and O'Brien looked to Amon, who was staring at the rubble.

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"At the very least I think a little lady was the Digihead." Jim said.

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They both turned to face Jim.

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"Hm? Clothing?" Johan stepped closer to get a better look. "And jewelry too."

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"And some dreamy-cute stuff from Tokimeki*Reverie. Whoever she is, she's got good taste." Jim commented.

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O'Brien just stared at him with a disappointed expression as he walked up to them.

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"What? I think it's cute stuff. I'd love to send some of it to my sister on the outside if I could." He added.

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"She didn't just go on a rampage." Amon said, making the other three turn around. "I think someone fought her."

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"But… how could someone take on a Digihead without a Catharsis Effect…?" Johan worriedly questioned.

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Amon held up a shoe that he picked up on the other side of the street.

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"They were either brave as hell or dumb as hell." O'Brien commented.

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"Or mad as hell if they were the person that caused it." Jim added.

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O'Brien sighed. "Well, do we have a Digihead running around Mobius unchecked now, or was this one dealt with without us too?"

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"There's been no further sightings and Digiheads don't resort to hiding. Someone must have dealt with it then. But… who else has the means to safely dispatch them other than us?" Johan wondered.

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"...The rats." Amon stated.

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"What reason would there be to increase the rate of Digiheads lately and then start dispatching them on their own? Just for fun? The damage fixes itself eventually." Jim theorized.

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"To cause chaos, likely. Disrupt the peace. Confuse us and send us on wild goose chases… Distract us from what they're really up to…" Amon suggested.

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"Who even are they…?" Johan questioned.

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"No way to know for now. Damn it, what can we do?" O'Brien groaned.

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"Draw them out first, maybe?" Jim suggested.

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"With what? We have no leads on their identities. No clue as to what they'll do next. Nothing." Amon stated.

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"Maybe we should look around some more. There was a building on the street over that got hit, right? Maybe there's some clues lying around." Johan said.

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"And ask the NPCs what they saw while we're at it. I doubt it was much while they were working though." O'Brien added.

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"I'll take some of this stuff back to the stores they're from. Maybe the NPCs can recognize who bought it." Jim decided.

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"You're not… saying that as an excuse to keep some of that, are you?" O'Brien questioned.

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"I said I wanted to send it to my sister, which isn't possible. Look at this stuff, it's all away too tiny to fit on me anyway." Jim responded.

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"That's your reason?" Johan said through his laughter.

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"Well I already admitted it's cute." Jim replied with a chuckle. "You try some of it on. I bet it'll look good on you, Johan."

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Johan laughed again. "No thanks. It's too small for me too."

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O'Brien just sighed.

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"Glad you two are having fun and all, but we have work to do." Amon sarcastically remarked.

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"Yeah, yeah. We know, buzzkill." Jim said.

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Amon glared at Jim from behind his glasses. "Anyway, Johan, you head to the store on the other street. Jim, you… do what you said you were gonna do. O'Brien, look for clues to the west. I'll head back to the entrance and look around there."

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"Got it! Meet you guys back here!" Johan said as he immediately ran off.

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"I'll take pictures so it's easier than carrying all this stuff." Jim said, pulling out his phone from his pocket.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

O'Brien walked off in the opposite direction without saying a word. Amon went the same way before O'Brien turned down the street.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Johan made his way around the street corner. There weren't any people around thankfully. He could work in peace without other students requesting a million and one things from him. It was hard to determine what the other store that was damaged was. He couldn't see any immediate damage and the darkness made it difficult to see inside windows clearly. Finally he noticed one store that very obviously had several racks knocked down inside. He simply walked in. There didn't appear to be any NPCs working. They possibly considered the area inaccessible due to the damage.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Johan made his way to the back of the store. Something came through the hole in the wall and crash landed in the store. Perhaps the Digihead, or whoever tried to fight it. He cursed the fact that Mobius didn't have security cameras. With no NPCs in the store it was impossible for him to learn exactly what happened.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Just before turning around, Johan noticed flower petals on the ground. He crouched down to inspect them. The only source of stray petals would be… a Catharsis Effect user. So there was another user that dealt with the Digihead. He had to tell the others.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

He got back up and reached for his phone in his pocket, but froze when he noticed a figure standing in the doorway. It clearly wasn't one of the others, nor a student. They were dressed in black clothes with a mask covering the top half of their face. Their only distinguishing feature was long brown hair.

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"Who- who are you?" Johan questioned, taking an offensive stance.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Wouldn't you like to know." A deep voice responded.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Johan's expression turned serious and seven white gems materialized behind him in a circle. A spike jutted out of his chest surrounded by sweet pea flowers, some of which dropped to the ground around him.

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The figure remained stoic and held a hand out, a pitch black rapier materializing in their hand. A spike protruded from their chest as well, along with buttercup flowers. A few petals fluttered to the floor.

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"A Catharsis Effect?! You're the one that did this, aren't you!" Johan accused.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"If that's what you want to think." They plainly stated.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Hmph. Fine, guilty until proven innocent then. Hyah!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Johan extended a hand forward and the top three gems fired lasers that honed in on the figure. They simply blocked it with their rapier and the gems rotated around until a new three were at the top. The figure took the opportunity to lunge forward, their blade pointed at Johan. He managed to dodge to the side, but not without his jacket sleeve getting cut. There wasn't much room in the store. He had to make it outside first. He bolted for the door, but the figure chased after him.

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"Don't make this difficult for yourself." They said.

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Johan looked over his shoulder and pointed his hand out again. The top three gems fired their lasers and struck the figure, launching them back.

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"G-gaah!"

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Johan scoffed as he ran through the door. "You're the one making this difficult."

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Jim's number. He had to buy some time for his last gem to finish charging.

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"C'mon, pick up, Jim, pick up. You had your phone out. I heard you." Johan groaned.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

A clattering from inside the store made Johan turn around. The figure stumbled out of the store and let out a sigh before standing upright. They pointed their rapier at Johan again, taking a rather graceful stance. Johan extended a hand out once more, but nothing happened. His eyes widened as he realized his gem still wasn't ready. He'd never had to fight alone before. He didn't realize the charge time would be such a hindrance in a one-on-one fight.

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"Johan? Find something?"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Jim's voice on the other end of the call distracted him. He took his eyes off the figure for just a split second and they lunged at him.

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"Jim, I need help! I can't- G-gaah!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

The figure's blade pierced through Johan's abdomen. They were close enough that Johan could see deep brown eyes beneath their mask. They felt… sorrowful. Johan dropped his phone, Jim's voice calling out to him from the other end. The figure pulled their rapier out of Johan and he fell back onto the ground. His gems disappeared and the spike in his chest faded away.

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"Johan!! Johan say something!!" Jim shouted through the phone.

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The figure bent down and picked up Johan's phone, holding it up to their ear.

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"Know this. The Go-Home Club will take control of Mobius. You Elites will be snuffed out one by one unless you hand over the Goddess." They warned.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Like hell we're taking demands from you! Where's Johan?! What did you do to him?!"

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The figure simply dropped the phone to the ground and stomped on it, completely breaking it. They picked up Johan and carried him away with them.

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"Johan?! Hey!!" Jim shouted at his phone.

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The call was disconnected. Jim clenched his fists and got the urge to throw his phone out of frustration, but he grabbed his wrist to stop himself. He had to get to Johan. He had to stop whoever was there. He dialed a number while running and soon the other person picked up.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"O'Brien! Johan's in trouble! It's really serious! Someone's there with him! Call Amon! Meet me at the store on the other street!" He shouted.

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"Jim? Uh, what are you-"

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"Do it! We don't have time!" Jim ordered before hanging up the call.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

He had to make it. He had to save Johan. He wouldn't let any of his family get hurt. Not while he could do something about it.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

He finally made it down the street Johan was on. He continued running until he came up to Johan's phone. Jim stopped in his tracks and got down on his knees. The screen was shattered and it clearly wouldn't work ever again. Jim gently picked it up and held onto it.

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"J-Johan…" He whispered.

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"Jim! What's going on?" Amon shouted.

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Jim looked up to see Amon and O'Brien running towards him from the other end of the street.

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"Where's Johan?!" O'Brien asked.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Jim looked back down to Johan's phone. "He… He asked for help. He needed our help and-... He needed it and there was nothing we could do! We're too late!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

O'Brien crouched down in front of Jim, wanting to help, but not knowing how. He wasn't great at dealing with emotions, let alone others'. He noticed Johan's phone in Jim's hands and his heart sank.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Amon looked around and stepped inside the store Johan was supposed to investigate. He spotted the flower petals on the ground. Ones he recognized as sweet peas and one he didn't, as well another unidentified pair near the back of the store. He made sure to pick up a few of each.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Jim, what did he say?" O'Brien gently asked, not wanting to press Jim too much.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"He just wanted help… that was all. And we couldn't-" Jim sighed.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"But there was someone else, right? Isn't that what you said?" O'Brien questioned.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Jim nodded. "They said… they said the Go-Home Club was gonna take over Mobius. If we didn't hand over the Goddess… they were gonna take us out one by one. And they started with Johan! Why did they have to pick him off first?!"

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Jim…" O'Brien just placed a hand on Jim's arm.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

He was worried about Johan too. All four of them had spent so long together. Without one of them, the group didn't feel complete.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"I'll take the blame here." Amon said as he walked back to the other two. "I made us split up when we shouldn't have. I didn't consider they would come out of hiding now. At the least Johan shouldn't have been left alone."

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"There's no way you could've known this would happen. None of us thought it would happen." O'Brien said.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Jim, I know it's tough right now, but I need you to identify these flowers." Amon requested as he crouched down and held his hand out.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Jim looked up and at Amon's hand, noticing the petals in his palm.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"That's not Johan's flower. That could only come from another Catharsis Effect user though." O'Brien noted.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"That one… it's a ranunculus, also known as a buttercup, spearwort, and water crowfoot. They're from Northern Europe and considered an invasive weed. And that's an anemone. They're kinda related." Jim informed them.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Your knowledge on nature will never cease to amaze me." O'Brien commented.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Good job, Jim." Amon praised and patted him on the back.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Jim couldn't help but smile a bit despite the circumstance.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"So we do have at least two other people around here aside from the four of us with a Catharsis Effect. Calling themselves the Go-Home Club implies there's more of them too. It's likely however many of them there are, they're all Catharsis Effect users." Amon stated.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"And they want Lady Ruby, otherwise they'll come after us too." O'Brien added.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"But… they already have Catharsis Effects, and Lady Ruby barely has any power left. We're the ones that do everything. So long as we're still standing, Lady Ruby technically doesn't matter. Getting rid of us is more dangerous than controlling Lady Ruby." Jim explained.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"Maybe they don't know that. If they have Catharsis Effects I doubt they got them with her aid. But if they know about her, then they know what she's capable of. If they're resorting to removing us to get to her or forcing us to hand her over, then there's no way they know the truth of the situation." Amon theorized.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

"They likely wouldn't believe us either… Ugh, what do they want control of Mobius for…?" O'Brien questioned.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Amon stared at the petals in his palm as he stood up. "Whatever the reason, we know who the rats are now. The Go-Home Club… they'll regret messing with the Elites of Mobius."

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

Amon clenched his fist, crushing the petals in his palm.

_********_********___************__** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ ** ** ** ** _ ** ** ** ** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm sure no one would notice, all the store names Rei listed are TCE references.
> 
> Next chapter is done, I just have to proofread it. I'm gonna try to post chapters every five days for as long as I'm on this hyperfixation train(even though I think this was only four days???). So next chapter will beeee.... Let's see how bad my counting is... My counting says Wednesday but let's go for Tuesday night! Maybe like 8pm CST or so? Depends on when I wake up.


	3. Welcome to the Go-Home Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure I've got much to say this chapter other than it's the longest one so far, so. Buckle up or wait 'til you're sure you've got the time. I just had a lot I wanted to knock out in this chapter and wasn't sure where to end it, haha. It probably feels like more than it actually is 'cause of that.
> 
> Also, I fucked up the HTML the first time I tried to draft this chapter, so. No more shortcut taking for me. I'm not even gonna bother to look at the previous chapters in case the italics there are messed up too 'cause I just don't wanna be disappointed in myself.
> 
> **Chapter Specific Warnings:(skip for no spoilers or if you don't care)**
> 
> **Always feel free to tell me about something that needs to be tagged that I might have missed or didn't consider!**
> 
> -Electroshock torture  
> -Suicidal thoughts  
> -Mentioned child abuse

"I'm surprised how quickly the day went by." Asuka said.

Her eyes were fixated on the moon up above. Somehow it looked more beautiful than the one in the real world. The stars nearby sparkled like glitter in space and there wasn't a cloud in the sky to hide any of it. It all felt too good to be real, which just drove home the fact that Mobius was fake. It only made Asuka want to see the real sky again. The real moon and the real stars. And she wanted her brother to see it with her.

"Well that's what happens when your day is as action packed as it was!" Junko cheerfully noted.

"I would prefer no action, thank you very much." Asuka remarked.

"Yeah, a bit of fun is nice, but I think I've had more than enough heart attacks for one day." Momoe agreed.

"If today had been about anything but me then I probably woulda been able to enjoy it. And if I kept all my new stuff." Rei added with a pouty face.

"We didn't even find Nii-san… I wonder what he's doing right now." Asuka whispered.

The three girls looked at Asuka with curious expressions as she walked ahead of them.

Across the neighborhood, Judai, Sho, and Kenzan came up to the boys' apartment building. Judai couldn't believe how big it was. It was at least a dozen stories high, but his eyes couldn't keep track of the number of floors due to how high up he had to look. He couldn't recall what an apartment building looked like, or if he'd ever seen one before, but he got the impression it was an average building. Like it wasn't anything extravagant, but he would definitely be comfortable there at least.

The trio walked through the front entrance and stood at the front desk. Sho explained the situation to the NPC and they happily checked their records for Judai's information. Unfortunately, they couldn't find his name.

"W-what do ya mean there's no Yuki Judai? Is… is that really not my name then?" Judai questioned.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't have any information on _anyone_ new today." She explained.

"You mean, like, it's not that the name's wrong, but that there is no name at all?" Sho wondered.

The attendant nodded. "No one new was registered today, or yesterday.

"B-but… the teacher this morning called my name, right? There wasn't a Yuki Judai in class yesterday, right, Sho?" Judai asked.

"Right! Even if you're not Yuki Judai, there wasn't one yesterday! Maybe your data just accidentally didn't get put in everywhere." Sho suggested.

"Ah, it doesn't matter, don." Kenzan butted in. "Just register him now, saurus! You can do that, right?"

"I can do that." The attendant said as she clacked away at the keyboard.

"That's a relief, but it doesn't solve the problem that I wasn't there in the first place." Judai muttered.

"Let's just chalk it up to a glitch in the system and leave it at that. I'm sure even Mobius has tech problems." Sho advised.

"I hope that's all it is." Judai replied.

"Aaand… done! You'll be in room 707." The attendant said as she picked up a spare key from the rack behind her. "Here's your key, be sure not to lose it."

"There's at least seven hundred rooms?!" Judai exclaimed as he took the key.

"It means seventh floor, seventh room, Aniki. Even I know that, don." Kenzan corrected him.

"He can't remember anything, how is he supposed to know?!" Sho shouted.

Kenzan side stepped away from him. "Geez, defensive much? But, there probably are at least seven hundred rooms."

"Three hundred twenty-five, actually." The attendant corrected.

The three of them looked shocked.

"Well, if it's the same for the girls then that's almost a total of seven hundred." Sho stated, checking his math on his fingers.

"I would think there's more people than that here." Judai noted.

"There are five hundred ninety-two students registered in Mobius." The attendant said.

"I'm willin' to bet that's give or take a couple people, saurus." Kenzan said.

"I don't wanna know what makes you think that…" Sho muttered.

"I dunno, I might be one of 'em." Judai said as he walked past the other two.

They both glanced at each other before following after Judai. 

The trio boarded the elevator and stood there in silence together. It didn't take long for the elevator to stop at the fifth floor, where Kenzan got off. They said their goodbyes and then the door closed, leaving just Judai and Sho. Barely a minute later the elevator stopped on the seventh floor and opened the doors. Judai stepped out and Sho followed, but stopped to keep a foot partially in the elevator.

"Do you live on this floor too, Sho?" Judai asked.

Sho shook his head. "I live on the thirteenth. I just…"

"Wanted to say bye?" Judai finished for him.

Sho nodded. "And, uh… Mn, t-thank you, Aniki."

"Huh? What for?"

"For dragging me along this morning and getting me involved in all this."

Judai chuckled. "You're thankful for that? I woulda thought you'd be mad about it. I mean, you've gotten knocked around today because of me."

"Well, I don't like the parts that involve getting hurt and nearly squashed, but… I'm just… glad I get to be a part of something with other people for once."

Sho adjusted his glasses and looked off to the side.

"Sho… do you wanna go home?"

The shorter teen looked at Judai with wide gray eyes. Judai was holding a hand out to him. He desperately wanted to take it, but he simply kept his hands balled up against his chest.

Did he want to go home?

He was tired of Mobius, but he didn't want to go back _there_. At least, not alone. Going back to that place right after recovering and not being able to do a thing about it… Sho was fearful that it would undo all his progress. What even was his progress? He learned how to get snippy at people without fear of getting it thrown back at him, literally. He felt comfortable doing things he liked without getting judged for it or accused of falling short of expectations. He could speak whenever he wanted and say whatever he wanted and go wherever he wanted and no one could stop him. But if he went home… he would be thrown right back into the situation that drove him to Mobius in the first place. Going alone might shatter Sho, but not going alone meant… finally confronting _him_.

Was it time for that? Could Sho even handle that? If he didn't know the answer, then maybe it wasn't time. He had until Judai would actually leave to decide for sure. And if Judai didn't go back, then at least they could stay in Mobius together.

"I… I don't know yet. I need more time."

Judai put his hand down and Sho became overwhelmed with the urge to reach out for it.

"It's okay. I don't think there's much time, but use as much of it as you can to make sure you really know. I want you to be certain it's what you want."

Judai smiled at him and Sho felt as though he had to look away. It was like staring at the sun. It was so bright that it hurt.

"Thank you… Aniki." Sho muttered.

"I'll see ya in the morning, Sho. Let's wait for each other in the lobby." Judai said.

"Yeah, okay." Sho replied with a nod.

And with that, Judai turned around to walk down the hall and Sho went back into the elevator.

"Alright, seventh room… seventh room." Judai muttered to himself as he checked the plates on the doors. "Ah, right here!"

He stopped at the door with his room number on it and pulled the key out of his pocket, unlocking the door. As he opened it, the door behind him opened as well. Judai looked over his shoulder to see Manjoume step out of room 710 with a small trash bag in his hand. They both stared at each other for a moment before Manjoume's eyes widened.

"Uh, h-hey neighbor." Judai said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh… Oh no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no." Manjoume muttered. "This is not happening. I refuse to let this happen. I am not letting you live across from me!!"

"C'mon, it won't be for long! I'll be outta here before ya know it!" Judai frantically responded.

"I don't care for how long it is! I'm not letting it happen at all!!" Manjoume shouted and lightly hit Judai over the head with his trash bag.

Judai just winced slightly and rubbed his head. "Ow, what do ya got in there?"

Manjoume groaned. "Just hurry up and leave so you're not disrupting things anymore than you have already."

"Why do you care about that?" Judai wondered.

"Because a peaceful life shouldn't be so much to ask for!!" Manjoume exclaimed.

Judai opened his mouth to speak, but Manjoume turned around and slammed his door shut.

"What's so peaceful about being stuck here?" Judai questioned, knowing he was only talking to himself.

He got the feeling Manjoume was trying to avoid something, but what, he didn't know. Judai didn't want to force Manjoume to be involved if he didn't want to be, but now that the Go-Home Club was a thing, Judai wanted to help as many other students as he could. Of course, it wasn't like Judai knew a single thing about Manjoume's situation, so he couldn't know for sure if going home or not would help. He just had to chip away at Manjoume's shell little by little while he still had the time.

Judai stepped into his own apartment and immediately froze. It was understandable, but he really didn't expect it to be so bare bones. He had the basic amenities like a couch and dining table and common kitchen appliances, but nothing really unique. He should have expected it wouldn't look like his dream home, but it didn't quite feel like a home the way it was either. He assumed that just meant he was supposed to decorate it however he pleased. But if he was leaving soon then there wasn't really a need for him to try making his apartment look nicer.

Judai closed the door behind him and took a better look around. Around the corner was a bathroom, which thankfully wasn't tiny. He didn't have anything to compare the size to, but the apartment was actually decently sized. He stepped into the bathroom and felt his heart skip a beat when he saw himself in the mirror. It was his first time looking at himself. He looked… average. Short fluffy brown hair and brown eyes with somewhat tan skin. The only trait of interest was that the top half of his hair was a lighter shade than the rest. Had he dyed his hair before? Or was it from an extreme amount of sunlight? Either way he didn't know what he expected himself to look like, but it felt both right and like he was looking at a stranger. He was Yuki Judai and that was what he looked like. That was all there was to it.

Judai walked into the bedroom next. There was a plain twin bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. Built into the wall was a closet as well. He went to the closet first and opened it out of curiosity. Inside were several plain white shirts and school uniform jackets. It was a little strange, but made sense anyway. He assumed pants and the like were in the dresser then. He sat down on the bed, finally realizing how long he had been on his feet for. It was nice to be on a soft bed after such a long and tiring day. Judai decided he'd lay back and rest for a moment before going to check out the kitchen for something to eat. He would just close his eyes for a few minutes.

_"Kuri, kuri."_

Judai's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up. He didn't expect to come face to face with the fuzzy creature from before. He yelped and backed up on the bed.

_"Be calm, please!"_

Judai put a hand over his chest, trying to relax. He didn't think the creature was dangerous, it just came out of nowhere was all. It did help him and Kenzan after all.

"A-are you gonna explain things now?" Judai hesitantly asked.

_"The best I can, kuri. I can't stay like this for long. I have so little power left."_

Judai finally noticed the creature seemed transparent. He could see the wall directly behind it.

"So… what are you?" Judai questioned.

_"I am Kuriboh. It's important I stay as much of a secret as possible so that's all I can tell you about myself, kuri."_

Judai furrowed his brow. "Ooookay… well then, you gave me and Kenzan our Catharsis Effects, so you gotta know what they are right?"

_"You're wrong actually."_

"H-huh?!"

_"I do not give people their Catharsis Effect, I can only help them unlock it. Give them the ideal environment to channel their emotions and complete the process themselves, kuri. Remember when it was just you and I, and you let out your emotions then unlocked your Catharsis Effect? That was all you."_

"All me, huh? But… that still doesn't explain what it is."

_"Catharsis, the feeling of relief after releasing strong emotions. The very nature of Mobius is what allows for the existence of the Catharsis Effect, kuri. It occurs after the state of catharsis is achieved. All those emotions get gathered up into the energy around you and released as your very own power. Your manifestation of your catharsis, if you will. Some people have strong enough conviction that they are capable of achieving their Catharsis Effect on their own, such as you and the other boy. Some are too far lost in their negative emotions and need others to help pull them out, kuri."_

"Like when I stabbed Asuka and Rei-chan?"

_"Exactly, kuri! The state they were in is called a Digihead. It's when they lose control of their emotions and go on a rampage using the same energy that manifests a Catharsis Effect. That is why properly dispatching a Digihead results in a Catharsis Effect, kuri."_

"But why does me stabbing people make that happen?"

_"Because your conviction is so strong. The emotions and energy that enter the Digihead from you overpower their own emotions and quell them, kuri. You are the only one with conviction that strong. Only you have the power to turn Digiheads into Catharsis Effect users."_

"What's so special about me?"

_"You are not tied down by your emotions the same way many others here are. You cannot remember what caused you to come here so you are not in a state similar to Mobius's other residents, kuri."_

"You mean I'm not depressed or suicidal. At least, not without my memories."

_"Yes, but I wanted to word it a little softer, kuri."_

"But… Kuriboh, why are you here? Why are you hanging around me? And why don't I remember anything?"

Kuriboh remained silent and the two stared at each other. The longer the silence lasted, the more worried Judai became. What was Kuriboh waiting for? What was he hiding?

_"I need your help. That is all."_

Judai frowned. "How am I supposed to know what you need me to help with if you don't tell me?"

_"As I said, I must remain a secret. It's for everyone's safety. If I explain too much then it'll put you in danger, kuri."_

"In danger of what? What could happen to me? If there's something that could hurt me and the others then I need to know! It's not right to keep secrets like that from someone you need help from!"

Kuriboh fell silent again and Judai glared at the creature.

_"I'm sorry. It's better you don't know."_

Kuriboh began to fade away and Judai bolted up, trying to grab him before he disappeared. Judai only swung his hands at the air, catching nothing. Kuriboh was gone.

"Ugh, damn it, Kuriboh!" Judai exclaimed as he clenched his fists.

He learned so much, but still felt like he barely knew anything. And now Judai knew Kuriboh still had answers that he wasn't giving. What reason did Kuriboh have to hide things from Judai? Judai still didn't know if Kuriboh was actually trustworthy. He just assumed so because the creature helped him.

He supposed there was no real point in worrying about it. Kuriboh didn't seem opposed to Judai's goal of leaving Mobius. Whatever Kuriboh wanted Judai's help with, he could handle not dealing with it. He wanted to focus on leaving Mobius after all. And now he knew what a Catharsis Effect was, so he could help others a little bit better. That was all that mattered to Judai. Getting closer to leaving Mobius and helping other people that wanted to leave too. Whatever Kuriboh was up to just wouldn't involve him. Unless… it already did and Judai had no way of knowing.

He would just cross that bridge when he got to it. Taking things one step at a time was best. Judai couldn't let himself become overwhelmed. He was the founder of the Go-Home Club after all. Going home took top priority, not whatever Kuriboh wanted. He would trust himself and his new friends first and foremost.

Judai sighed and sat back down on the bed. He could really go for something to eat right about now. He couldn't explain why, but he was definitely craving seafood. Maybe even something fried too. He got up and headed for the kitchen, hoping there was something already in the fridge for him. The only question was if he even knew how to cook.

Somewhere in the depths of Mobius, Johan groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He lifted his head up and looked around a bit. He couldn't tell where he was since it was so dark. He couldn't move either. Looking down, he realized he was tied to a chair. There were metal contraptions around his arms and legs, and one around his neck that he couldn't see. As Johan regained his senses he slowly started realizing what kind of situation he was in. He tried to pull his arms up, put the ropes around his wrists were too tight. He could barely move a muscle.

The sound of approaching footsteps made him tense up. A light flicked on and he squinted his eyes. It was practically blinding and he couldn't see who was getting closer. The other person finally walked into the light and stood before Johan. They wore black clothes with a metal mask in the shape of a dragon face hiding their identity. They were surprisingly tall with dark teal hair that just went past their shoulders.

"You have one chance…" They said with a deep and somewhat gravelly voice.

"W-where am I?" Johan questioned.

"You do not get to ask the questions around here!!" They shouted at him.

Johan flinched and turned his head away.

"Now listen carefully, I'll only say it once. You will tell us where the Goddess is, or I'll send an electric shock through your body until it fries your brain completely." They warned.

Johan's eyes widened. They were going to torture him unless he gave up Ruby. He could feel his body beginning to shake. He didn't want to go through it. He couldn't stand to consider going through something so horrible all over again. Not after he worked so hard to get past it the first time. But he couldn't let them have Ruby. Even though he was captured, he could still help the others by keeping his mouth shut.

"Now answer me! Where are you hiding her?!" They demanded.

Johan hesitated before shaking his head, bracing for whatever pain he would feel.

His captor roughly grabbed him by the chin and got close to his face, forcing them to stare at each other. Despite being so close to the mask, Johan couldn't tell how they could see out of it. He was scared of how angry they might look underneath it too.

"I'll let you in on a secret… My parents once put a shock collar on my little brother. Something about him running off too much 'cause of his… problems. Anyway, I took it off of him, and when my parents found out, you know what they did?" They didn't wait for Johan to respond. "They told me if I was willing to do that, then I was willing to take his place. Do you know what it's like to feel electricity course through your body as just a little kid? Do you know what that feels like? Do you know what it feels like to know it's your parents doing that to you? To know it could be your little brother instead? To know that he could be the one shaking out of control on the floor? That you're the one thing standing between him and that kind of indescribable pain?!"

They kicked Johan's chair back and he hit the ground with a thud, eliciting a yelp and a wince from him. He looked up at his captor with shaky eyes as they propped their foot up on his chair. They held up a small controller with their finger on the button and Johan whimpered.

"It feels pretty damn good."

"Ga-aaa-aaaaaahhhh!!"

Johan's body convulsed in the chair, but the ropes held him in place. His whole body ached with each never ending shock he felt and his screams filled the room. The person above him relished in the sight, enjoying each individual twitch that Johan's body made. They started to laugh, as if Johan was nothing but a show for their own entertainment.

"Kaiser, that's enough! We won't get anywhere if you kill him."

Johan's captor, Kaiser, sighed and glanced over his shoulder. Walking into the light was the brunet that kidnapped Johan at Papiko.

"He can handle it. He needs to know what happens when he doesn't listen." Kaiser said.

The brunet clenched their fists, unable to look at the sight beneath Kaiser. Soon the screams would be too much as well.

"Okay! Make it stop!" The brunet exclaimed.

Kaiser froze for a moment, but didn't listen.

"Kaiser." A third voice said.

The brunet looked over to see a man join them, his face uncovered with fluffy dark green hair and purple eyes. Kaiser simply glared at him, despite no one being able to tell, and removed his finger from the button.

Johan gasped for air and tried to hold back his tears. His body continued to spasm even after the ordeal was over. He started to get that feeling again. The desire to end it all. He didn't want to go through it anymore. He couldn't take it. He didn't want to suffer for another second longer.

"Please just tell us where the Goddess is and it'll be over." The brunet said.

"Ngh… n-never…" Johan struggled to say.

Kaiser pressed the button.

"Gaaaaahh!! Aaah! Aaaahhh!!"

It ended and Johan panted. His body wouldn't stop twitching and it made Johan wince every time. The tears fell from his eyes.

"Release him."

Kaiser and the brunet looked at the other man.

"Why?" Kaiser asked.

"Give him some incentive… if you know what I mean."

And with that, he walked away.

Kaiser huffed and brought the chair up with his foot. The brunet tensed up at the sight of Johan. He hung his head and just whimpered. It was such a pathetic sight for one of Mobius's Elites. Kaiser crouched down and began loosening the ropes on the chair one by one. Once Kaiser got to the back of the chair, Johan was free enough that he bolted up and made a run for it. The brunet didn't try to stop him. He only made it a couple feet before Kaiser pressed the button again, causing a shock to shoot through Johan's body and bring him falling to the ground at the brunet's feet. Kaiser kept his finger on the button, making Johan convulse on the ground and yank at the ring around his neck as he screamed. The brunet's eyes widened and he backed up, seeing himself in Johan's place. He gripped at his hair and shook his head.

"Make it stop! Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!!" The brunet yelled.

Kaiser quickly released the button and hesitated for a moment, making sure the wrong name didn't come out of his mouth.

"Darkness, it's over. It's fine." He said, struggling to sound sincere.

Johan panted again and covered his face with his hands, muffling his choked sobs. His body still twitched and Johan kept expecting to feel the shocks all over again. Every second that passed terrified him further. It was going to happen again, he knew it would. Any moment now.

Darkness tried to gather himself and calm his breathing, not wanting to lose it in front of Kaiser.

"He… he doesn't deserve this. We're going too far. Is this really necessary?!" Darkness exclaimed.

"Of course it is! We can't let them underestimate us!" Kaiser shouted. "They have to know we're serious about this! There can't be any mercy!"

Darkness looked from Kaiser to Johan and shook his head again.

"You wanna stay here, don't you?! Then get it through your damn head that this is the only way! We can only secure our control over Mobius with the Goddess dead! She's the last one left!" Kaiser explained.

"I-if you… If you k-kill Lady R-Ruby…" They both looked down at Johan, who was struggling to speak. "...th-then Mobius… w-will collapse."

"Shut up!" Kaiser ordered. "Don't assume we're dumb enough to not know how this works!!"

"B-but you'll k-kill everyone here… i-if you… kill Lady R-Ruby." Johan warned.

Darkness tensed up. "A-are we… sure they know what they're doing?"

"Don't fall for his tricks!" Kaiser shouted. "They said after the Goddess dies we'll take all her power and keep Mobius stable ourselves!"

"But… how can they really be sure? How do they know for a fact it'll work that way? Or that we'll have the chance to take her power at all?" Darkness questioned.

Kaiser approached Darkness and grabbed him by the front of his coat. He put his hands on Kaiser's wrist, but didn't seem to fight it.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Kaiser asked.

"O-of course we are!" Darkness assured him.

"Then you're either with us, or against us. And you don't want to be against your only friends… right?" Kaiser's tone sounded more threatening than anything else.

Darkness hesitated before lowering his head and nodding.

"Good." Kaiser said as he released his grip on the brunet.

With the two of them distracted by each other, Johan tried to get to his knees. It was a struggle to even lift himself up thanks to the shock his muscles were still feeling. He was so close to being able to stand before Kaiser kicked him down and Johan let out a yelp, too weak to try getting up again. It wasn't like he even could try again though, since Kaiser shoved a foot down on his chest.

"Don't think we forgot about you." Kaiser stated and held up the button so Johan could see it. "Now, you have no more chances left. You will tell us where the Goddess is, or you'll get turned into an Egohead."

"...I… I'd rather… die than tell you!" Johan exclaimed.

"Hmph, so be it. You'll wish you were dead all over again after this." Kaiser said.

He held his finger on the button, causing Johan to scream from the countless shocks that coursed through his body once again. Darkness had to turn around and cover his ears, but Johan's screams and Kaiser's laughter were too loud. He walked away, knowing he couldn't take it any longer. The sounds lasted far into the night.

Early in the morning, Judai was found leaning against the wall in the apartment building's lobby. Plenty of students walked by him on their way out to head to school. He didn't have to wait long until Sho practically came running out of the elevator. Judai took a step forward once they spotted each other, but didn't expect Sho to run and jump at him.

"Aniki!!" Sho cheerfully exclaimed.

"Ack! S-Sho!" Judai stumbled back a bit, but kept his footing. "Well, someone must be having a good morning."

Sho just smiled and nodded, not wanting to admit that he was more than relieved to find out Judai actually waited for him.

"Anikiii!!"

Judai looked up just in time to see Kenzan crash into them, squishing Sho between the two taller teens.

"K-Kenzan?!" Judai exclaimed.

"Good thing ya haven't left yet, saurus. We can walk together." Kenzan said.

"Uh, yeah. Heh, the more the merrier after all." Judai agreed.

"Back up! I c-can't breathe!" Sho shouted.

Kenzan and Judai both took a step back and chuckled while Sho just glared at Kenzan.

"Aw hell, there's three of you now?"

The trio looked over to see Manjoume stop next to them.

"Manjoume! Wanna walk with us?" Judai offered.

"Hell no." He responded.

"Good." Sho said.

"Who's this stick in the mud?" Kenzan questioned, seemingly sizing up Manjoume.

"St-stick in the mud?! I'll have you know I'm Manjoume Jun! But you'll address me as Manjoume-san!" He introduced himself.

"Uh-huh…" Kenzan responded, but had no intention of doing so.

"I don't need to run late 'cause of the likes of you guys anyway. I'm outta here." Manjoume said before walking towards the entrance.

"Well isn't he just pleasant to be around, don." Kenzan remarked.

"You can say that again." Sho agreed.

"C'mon guys." Judai suddenly ran out of the building. "Heeey! Manjoume, wait up!"

"A-Aniki!" They both shouted as they ran after him.

Manjoume looked over his shoulder at the sound of his name and groaned as Judai caught up with him, stopping to walk beside him. Kenzan and Sho caught up as well and joined them. The trio talked all the way to school, but Manjoume remained silent and just tried to ignore them.

Once they reached the school, they walked through the entrance together and kept going. Judai and Sho were distracted by their conversation, but Kenzan glanced over at a poster on the wall and stopped in his tracks.

"Uh, Aniki?" Kenzan called out.

Judai stopped and looked over his shoulder, making Sho stop too. Manjoume wanted to keep walking, but curiosity got the better of him and he stopped a couple feet ahead.

"What's up?" Judai asked as he walked back over to Kenzan.

Once his eyes landed on what Kenzan was looking at, Judai's jaw almost dropped. Sho rushed over, followed by Manjoume. Before them was a hand drawn poster that read 'Do you want to leave Mobius but aren't deemed ready? Then join the Go-Home Club! We'll get you back home! Meeting in class 2-5 today!' Underneath the writing was a drawing of Judai with a crown on his head, an angry looking Asuka off to the side, Rei standing next to Judai with a heart between them, and Kenzan between Asuka and Rei with giant circles for hands.

"Is that supposed to be her attempt at drawing my Catharsis Effect, saurus?" Kenzan questioned.

"Ya know, it kinda looks like you're keeping Asuka-san away from Aniki and Rei-chan." Sho pointed out.

"Is that the way she sees it…?" Kenzan mumbled.

"Are you saying Rei-chan did this, Kenzan?" Judai asked.

"Definitely. I've seen her doodles before. There's no doubt she made this, don." Kenzan responded.

"Hold on just a damn minute. What the hell is this?! And did you say you have that Catharsis thing?" Manjoume interrogated.

"Got it yesterday, thanks to Aniki!" Kenzan proudly stated.

"What else did you do yesterday?!" Manjoume practically shouted.

"Uh… long story short, Papiko is a pretty interesting place. And… the Go-Home Club has two more members, eheh." Judai explained and rubbed the back of his head.

Manjoume groaned. "You're gonna keep causing problems, aren't you?"

Judai just flashed a nervous smile in response.

"What's Rei-chan trying to do anyway? Recruit more members?" Sho wondered.

"Seems like it. That's a pretty good idea actually. If we want more people to join then we do gotta advertise." Judai said.

"I thought you didn't wanna help anyone else." Manjoume claimed.

"Oh, I kinda… changed my mind on that. I think it's best that I try to help other people like Asuka while I'm still here. Maybe the Elites can send them back too if they'll send me back. I bet the more people there are, the more convinced they'll be!" Judai clarified.

"But… Aniki, isn't that what the Elites already do?" Kenzan questioned.

"Well, yeah." Sho answered for him. "But they have a system to it as far as I'm aware. You have to be deemed ready, but they could deem you not ready even if you yourself feel ready. That's probably why Asuka-san hasn't been able to go home."

"Okay, then instead of seeing it in a paperwork kinda way, they should judge everyone on a case by case basis. If we show them that everyone that wants to go home is so determined and willing to join a club for it, then they'll see there's more than one way to determine someone's ready!" Judai decided.

"So… you're basically gonna try to change the whole system?" Sho wondered.

"If that's what needs to be done, then sure! Uh, and if it can be done before I get outta here." Judai responded.

"Tch, have fun with that." Manjoume said and suddenly walked away.

The trio watched him leave.

"He really doesn't like the idea of change, does he?" Judai commented.

"As much as I don't like Manjoume, if that's the case then I can at least understand that." Sho said.

"Say, Sho. What do you know about Manjoume?" Judai asked.

"Hm? Well, despite sharing a class with him for three years now, I dunno a thing about him. We get snippy at each other, but… he's like that with everyone and I… uh, it's just a reflex for me. So we ended up on the wrong foot and couldn't get off it. His attitude annoys me, but I really don't have anything against him." Sho explained.

"Sounds like a complicated guy." Kenzan noted.

"Aren't we all…" Sho replied, eliciting a nod from Kenzan.

"Hmm…" Judai stared at the corner Manjoume disappeared around until something caught his eye. "Hey, wait a minute."

The brunet ran up ahead a bit and grabbed a poster off the wall. Sho and Kenzan followed him and noticed another Go-Home Club poster in his hands. Judai looked down the hall and saw a trail of the same poster plastered down the hall. He looked the other way to see the same situation.

"J-just how many… did she make?!" Judai shouted.

Across the main school building, a gray haired teen stood in front of the posterboard. Every gap between other posters was filled with copies of the same Go-Home Club poster. His blue eyes were fixated on it and unable to look away. A taller teen with pushed back black hair stood next to him, looking at the posters as well.

"Are you interested in going?" The taller boy asked.

"No." The gray haired boy said without missing a beat, not even glancing at the other boy.

"O-oh. Could have fooled me. You seem interested." The other boy responded.

"That doesn't mean I'll go." The shorter stated.

"Ah… well, maybe I'll see you there anyway. You can never be too sure." The taller suggested.

"You'll never see me again."

And with that, the gray haired boy walked away, leaving the taller boy mystified. He wondered just who that boy was. He wore the Kishimai uniform, but didn't look familiar at all.

The school bell rang, signalling the end of classes for the day. Most of class 2-5 stood up and left the room, but Judai, Sho, and Manjoume stayed in their desks. Judai and Sho were waiting on the rest of the Go-Home Club, but they weren't sure why Manjoume was staying behind. He just propped his feet up on his desk and crossed his arms as if he was waiting too. Judai and Sho chatted for a couple minutes until Asuka, Junko, and Momoe entered the room. They all said their greetings and Manjoume glanced at Asuka as she walked by. The group decided to move some desks into a large square so it would be easier to talk. Sho sat next to Judai and Asuka sat across from him with Junko and Momoe on either side of her.

"So have you seen Rei-chan's posters?" Judai asked, knowing the answer was obvious.

Asuka just groaned. "I told her she could make twenty at most, but I guess that translated to two hundred in her head. She must have left really early to have the time to put them all up. I'm honestly surprised we haven't gotten a flood of people coming in yet. There's no way anyone missed seeing them."

"Maybe there's just not that many students that want to join." Momoe wondered.

"Or they got annoyed by all the posters and made sure not to come." Junko added.

"Or maybe they don't believe there's another way to go back. It does sound kinda far fetched. I mean, what could we do that the Elites can't?" Sho considered.

"Use Catharsis Effects, obviously!" Judai said.

"That alone's not gonna get us back home though." Asuka replied. "Oh, by the way, did you go see them this morning?"

"Huh?" Judai froze. "Oh man!! I said I was gonna do that, didn't I?! I completely forgot!"

"Probably because you, me, and Kenzan-kun were talking the whole way here and then got distracted by Rei-chan's posters." Sho assumed.

"I doubt they would have heard you out after one day anyway. You can try again tomorrow if and when we have more members." Asuka said.

"Judai-samaaa!!"

The group looked over to see Rei and Kenzan barge into the room.

"Hey, Aniki!" Kenzan greeted with a wave.

Rei quickly ran over and practically jumped in the seat next to Judai, grabbing onto his arm. Sho and Kenzan couldn't help but glare a bit at the sight as Kenzan walked up and took the seat next to Rei.

"Did you like my posters, Judai-sama? They look great, don't they?" Rei cheerfully asked.

"Uh, I appreciate the effort to help get more people, Rei, I really do. But you didn't have to make so many." Judai said.

"Oh, but I had to make sure _everyone_ saw! What if the one person that didn't see the posters was someone who would've loved to join!" Rei explained.

"She has a point." Momoe commented.

"So anyway," Rei suddenly whispered. "who's the creepy dude back there?"

Sho looked over his shoulder. "Manjoume? He doesn't wanna join, but he's hanging around anyway."

Asuka suddenly stood up and walked over to Manjoume's desk. She leaned forward a bit and he looked up at her with a nervous expression.

"Don't you wanna join us, Manjoume-kun?" She asked.

"N-no way." Manjoume turned his head away. "You guys just need someone to keep an eye on you all so you don't cause trouble."

"You can keep a closer eye on us if you sit with us." She said.

Manjoume hesitated and his eyes glanced at Asuka. "F-fine…"

He stood up and he and Asuka walked back to the group. Asuka sat back down in her place and Manjoume sat next to Junko, but kept his eyes focused out the window.

"Glad to have you here, Manjoume." Judai said with a smile.

He only got a huff in response.

"Ya think anyone's gonna show up, saurus?" Kenzan wondered.

"There's always a chance, but I honestly really doubt it since no one showed up right away." Sho said.

"Maybe they're all just nervous. We'll give them some time!" Rei decided.

Judai nodded in agreement. "And in the meantime, I can explain the Catharsis Effect."

"Oh? Did you learn something?" Asuka inquired.

"I did actually. A lot, but… I still have more questions. Anyway, I spoke with that fuzzy creature and he explained it to me. His name is Kuriboh." Judai said.

"Ku… riboh? What is that little thing anyway?" Kenzan wondered.

"I dunno. He tried avoiding talking about himself. It's still really confusing. But he said a Catharsis Effect is when, well, catharsis is achieved. It's the form that the released emotions take. Some people can achieve it on their own and others need help. Myself and Kenzan could achieve it on our own because we had strong enough conviction. But he said… only I can help other people achieve theirs because I'm not held back by bad memories. Oh, and that thing that happened to Asuka and Rei-chan, that's called a Digihead. It's when negative emotions go out of control and something about my power that enters you and helps channel those emotions into a Catharsis Effect." Judai explained.

Everyone took a moment to process what Judai told them.

"But, what is it for? To have such a strong power born from your emotions… What purpose is there to it? I can't imagine it has any use outside of fighting." Asuka wondered.

"And why does that thing know about it? What's it doing with you anyway, Aniki?" Sho questioned.

Judai shook his head. "That's the stuff he wouldn't explain. He's keeping secrets for some reason. I don't know if I really trust him now. He needs me to do something for him, but he won't tell me what."

The group fell silent, everyone contemplating Judai's explanation in their own way. It wasn't too difficult to grasp, but the lingering question of 'why' still hung over their heads. Who was Kuriboh and why did he need Judai's help? Why were they seemingly the only ones with Catharsis Effects? Why did Judai not have any memories? Would they ever know why?

A knock on the door called everyone's attention to the front of the classroom. In stepped another student with black hair that was pushed back. Manjoume recognized him and immediately turned his head away, not wanting to be seen.

"Ah, apologies if I'm interrupting. I think I might be late. This the Go-Home Club, yes?" He asked and held up a copy of Rei's poster.

"I netted us a new member! Score!" She praised herself.

"It is." Judai said as he scooted out of his seat and walked up to the other teen. "We were waiting to see if anyone else would show, so you're good. I'm Yuki Judai, and you are?"

"Misawa Daichi, from class 2-7. I'm somehow not surprised the new kid that approached the Elites is in charge." Misawa introduced himself.

"Huh?! H-how'd you know that was me?" Judai questioned.

"Everyone knows the name Yuki Judai. And I mean _everyone_. You made quite the spectacle of yourself, you know." Misawa explained.

Judai just groaned. "Can't wait for everyone to forget about that. Ah, well, come join us. If you're the only one then I guess we can get started."

"Thank you." Misawa followed Judai to the group of desks. "There was someone else though, but I suppose he decided not to come."

"Another one? Then that's two I got!" Rei cheered.

"But the guy hasn't shown up yet, if at all, don." Kenzan remarked, causing Rei to pout.

"It still counts 'cause he saw my poster and _wanted_ to join." She argued.

"You've gathered quite the cast of characters here, I see." Misawa noted as he sat down next to Momoe and across from Kenzan. "You've got Tenjoin Asuka, the school beauty, Saotome Rei, the girl I've heard will date any guy who looks at her, and Manjoume Jun, the guy who won't stop yelling in the library."

Rei and Kenzan immediately glared at Misawa.

"I do not!!" Manjoume suddenly shouted. "I go there for some peace and quiet and everyone else always has to start shit!"

"Shit wouldn't continue if you ignored them." Misawa stated.

"You two know each other?" Judai inquired.

"No!" Manjoume denied.

"Not particularly well, but I'm often in the library when Manjoume starts fights there. I usually end up being the one to break it up." Misawa explained.

"I could end it myself if you wouldn't butt in! And it's Manjoume- _san_!" He argued.

"Yes, yes. As you always say." Misawa responded.

"I would think one hit and your ass would be knocked out." Sho commented.

"They're not fist fights! I'm stronger than I look anyway!" Manjoume claimed, but no one believed him.

"So, Misawa, are you sure you wanna join? Once we're out, that's it. We're out." Judai asked.

Misawa nodded. "I've worked my problems out thoroughly during my time here and I know I'm ready to leave now. Unfortunately, I'm not… up to the standards the Elite's system has set, so I'm stuck here."

"What kinda system do they have anyway, saurus?" Kenzan wondered.

"I got denied several times myself so I know a bit of the process." Asuka said. "You have to put in a query at the school's office. The principal goes over your file and I think runs your information with the other NPCs. They all share some kind of link with each other so they can easily exchange information. It can either stop there and they deny you, or your file goes to the Elites and they call a meeting with you. After that you either go home or stay here a little while longer. My file never even made it to them once."

"Neither did mine. Well, the one time I did try. I can't imagine why I was rejected though." Misawa said.

"What do they check for to know you're ready?" Judai asked.

"I think it factors in things like class and club attendance, how much and at what rate you get in trouble, how much you get out, how often you socialize and make friends, if you stop any harmful habits. Stuff like that. And obviously I don't, or didn't, go to a club and don't socialize that much so that must have had a huge effect on my review. I was hoping if I just kept coming back I could brute force my way through the system, but that clearly doesn't work." Asuka explained.

"Wait, how do they keep track of all that stuff?" Judai questioned, suddenly feeling creeped out.

"NPCs are always watching." Manjoume stated. "Plus Mobius is just weird. Since the NPCs are a part of it, they probably know a lot more than anyone thinks, even if they are a bit incompetent."

"That is _so_ creepy." Rei commented.

"Now I feel like I'm always being watched." Junko said.

Asuka gripped at her arm, hating the feeling she got from the thought of that.

"Kinda makes ya feel like a prisoner here if they know everything you do and can decide whether ya leave or not." Kenzan noted.

"Never actually thought of it that way. Mobius has always felt so comfortable that I wouldn't have considered it like a prisoner just because we can't decide when we leave." Sho said.

"Yeah!" Momoe agreed. "Like, why would you wanna leave this place when it's so nice? It's _meant_ to help! But then when you feel like you don't need the help anymore, it keeps you captive and tries to convince you you do until it says so."

"I think you're all starting to look at it a little too dark." Misawa said. "The Elites are in charge. If you can convince them the system isn't perfect then perhaps they can change it and improve Mobius even more."

"If that'll take longer than leaving then that's unfortunately a no-go. I do think it would be nice, but top priority is going home." Judai responded.

"Hm, I see. Can't solve all problems after all." Misawa noted.

A knock on the door made everyone look over at it. As it opened, Misawa wondered if the boy from earlier finally decided to show up. Instead, an unknown girl walked inside the classroom. Her long black hair was tied in a low ponytail and her uniform's skirt reached all the way down to her ankles. She wore red lipstick and round earrings, which Rei thought was a bit gaudy.

"Sorry to interrupt. Is this the Go-Home Club?" She asked.

"It is! Welcome! The more the merrier!" Judai greeted and got up again to approach her. "I'm Yuki Judai."

"Ah, I've been hearing that name around a lot lately. I'm Saiou Mizuchi. I'm a bit new here." She introduced herself.

"Hey, I just got here yesterday so don't sweat it! It kinda takes some getting used to bein' here, huh." Judai reassured her. "Ah, come join us. We'll catch you up."

"Thank you." She responded with a smile.

Rei let out a gasp. "Sweet, that's the third one my posters got!"

"I dunno what you're keepin' track for, saurus." Kenzan grumbled.

Judai returned to his seat and Mizuchi sat at the end near Manjoume. Everyone gave her their names, even Manjoume, who was a bit reluctant to get mistaken for a club member.

"So Mizuchi, what class are you in?" Junko asked.

"2-7." She answered.

Misawa flashed a curious expression. "Oh really? I'm in 2-7 and we haven't gotten a new student lately."

"Oh? Sorry, I haven't attended a single class. I panicked a bit when I got here." She explained.

"Yeah, it can be scary when you first get here." Sho admitted.

Misawa still found it a bit odd that he never heard her name called during roll, but he thought of many plausible explanations for that and so he left it be. After all, if she had never been to class before then she might have remembered the wrong one.

"You wanna go home so soon after getting here? Are you sure that's really what you wanna do?" Asuka wondered.

"Truth be told, I don't remember anything about myself other than my name. I don't see a use for this place for myself. Obviously I can't just ask to be sent home, as I found out. But then Judai here just went ahead and did exactly that." Mizuchi revealed.

Everyone looked dumbfounded. Not only had Judai come to Mobius without all his memories, but now they find out Mizuchi did as well. No wonder she panicked when she arrived and wanted to leave so soon. She was in the same situation that Judai was in.

"Please, Mizuchi, is there anything you know?! Like why you came here without memories! Did anything weird happen?!" Judai frantically asked.

"A-Aniki…" Sho muttered.

Everyone was surprised at how desperate Judai sounded. The loss of his memories must have still been eating away at him.

Mizuchi simply stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry. I don't really know anything about it. I'm just as in the dark as you are."

Judai sighed and forced himself to relax. He still wasn't any closer to getting any answers, but at least he knew he wasn't the only one who lost their memories somehow. But then that had to mean Judai and Mizuchi had something in common. Judai wondered for a moment. Did Kuriboh know what that link was?

"Welp," Kenzan started. "I take it they're the only two we're getting, so we might as well figure out what we're gonna do next."

"Burst into the Student Council office and demand to go home! Right?!" Rei exclaimed.

"Well, that's one option." Misawa noted.

"I don't think they're here." Manjoume mumbled.

"Huh?" Even Junko, who was right next to him, didn't catch what he said.

"I said, I don't think they're here." Manjoume repeated in a much louder voice.

"What makes you say that?" Sho questioned.

"I heard some guys earlier before class started saying that one of 'em heard the Elites were at Papiko last night." Manjoume explained.

"That doesn't mean they didn't come back. Uh, unless they didn't." Judai said.

"No, I know that. It's just a hunch is all. Sometimes they're spotted around the city doing who knows what. There's probably other stuff they take care of around Mobius." Manjoume said.

"Well there's no point in _not_ trying! And if they're not there then if we find them, it'll be easier to talk to them." Momoe suggested.

"Right! We should check the Student Council room first then ask around if anyone's seen them." Junko added.

"Everyone wanna take a field trip then?" Judai suggested.

"Hm? Now, Judai?" Asuka questioned.

"Yeah, better to get it done with now if we can. We gotta show them no mercy from the Go-Home Club!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Kenzan and Rei cheered in agreement and they both pumped a fist in the air.

"I think you two are both a little too easily excited." Sho remarked.

"I think it's about as sound of a plan as we can get for now though. I'm in agreement." Misawa said.

Everyone else but Manjoume seemed to agree as well. They all stood up while Manjoume stayed in his seat. They made their way to the door together, but Judai looked over his shoulder at Manjoume.

"Aren't you coming with, Manjoume?" He asked.

"Manjoume-san."

"Right, right. Aren't you coming?"

"I'm not in your little merry band. I don't need to go with you."

"Neither are Sho, Junko, or Momoe, but they're still coming."

"And I'll be going." Asuka added.

That still wasn't enough to fully convince Manjoume, but it didn't matter. He got up anyway and shoved his hands in his pockets. He didn't bother to look at anyone as he walked past them and out of the classroom.

"I guess that means he's coming." Judai said.

"A guy like him, he'll come around eventually. I'm sure of it." Mizuchi noted.

"Ya think?" Judai wondered as he glanced at her.

The club collectively made their way through the school together to the third floor. Judai hadn't actually been up there yet. Just the fact that it was where the Elites supposedly stayed nearly all the time and the Student Council room was usually locked made it feel like a mysterious place to Judai. Somewhere where only the four of them had the full understanding of and was completely closed off to everyone but them. Surely it couldn't have been anything but an average club room, but without seeing it for himself, Judai's imagination could only run wild.

As they all walked up the stairs, Judai, Asuka, Kenzan, Mizuchi, and Rei noticed the difference in the air. It was somehow lighter and softer. It was comforting in a way. They had no idea what might have been the cause, but they certainly weren't going to complain.

It was just a short walk down the hall until they came to the right door. Judai was just following everyone else, so when they stopped he assumed they reached their destination. It was a door just like the one on any other classroom in the school. Not a thing about it looked remarkable. It was Mizuchi who first put a hand on the door, but she didn't knock, she simply stared at it.

"Heeey!! You jerks in there?!" Kenzan yelled as he slammed a foot against the door.

"Kenzan!" Asuka exclaimed.

"Dude, what the hell?!" Manjoume shouted.

Misawa backed up for his own safety and Sho tried to hide behind Judai.

"Yeah, show 'em who's boss!" Rei cheered as she also kicked the door.

"Rei-chan!" Junko and Momoe both grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back.

There was a moment of silence as everyone waited with bated breath to see if the door would open. When no response came, everyone but Kenzan and Rei let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, if they're not in there then let's not break down the door please." Judai requested.

"Perhaps if we do though, then we can see what's in there." Misawa suggested.

"And get in trouble if they come back while we're in there?! No thank you!" Sho refused.

"There's no way to get through it anyway." Mizuchi noted.

"Don't underestimate my strength, saurus. I can kick this thing down no problem if I wanna." Kenzan claimed.

"No, you can't." She assured him. "The door didn't move at all when either of you kicked it. I felt it. Nothing will get through this door. It's not _just_ locked, it's acting as a barrier."

"Like a magical kind?" Rei wondered.

"You could say that." Mizuchi agreed.

"So they got something to hide, do they?" Manjoume commented and practically glared at the door.

"I mean, they do have the power to send everyone back to the real world. It stands to reason they might have stuff in there they need to protect from nosy people like us. And have the means to do so." Judai said.

"Well either way, they're not in there and breaking in wasn't a part of the plan. We should go back down and ask people if they know where they are." Asuka suggested.

Everyone seemed to agree and turned around to leave. Mizuchi stared at the door for a moment longer before letting her hands linger on it as she followed after everyone.

The club stopped on the second floor to spread out and ask around if any of the remaining students had seen the Elites. Every person they asked came up empty. No one there seemed to have a clue where the Elites were. The only thing they could agree on was that none of them had seen the Elites pass through either to leave or return to the third floor all day. With no real luck, the Go-Home Club regrouped at the stairs.

"I believe there's more people still hanging around on the first floor. We've got a better chance of learning something there. We could also check outside around campus, and if they were last spotted at Papiko, then if need be we can check there as well." Misawa informed everyone.

"Right, we'll be out all day if we have to." Judai said.

"All day? We gotta give up eventually, Aniki." Sho said.

"I know, I know. If we haven't found them by sundown then we'll stop for the day. Everyone cool with that?" Judai responded.

Everyone gave their own form of agreement.

As a group they headed further down the stairs that lead to the front of the school entrance. Even before having a view of the floor, a loud commotion could be heard. It sounded like a large group of girls all fawning over something.

"H-hey now, ladies. I know it's nice to see me, but I really gotta get going, okay?"

Asuka perked her head up at the familiar sounding voice. She pushed past everyone on the stairs and stopped in her tracks at the bottom of the stairs.

"Asuka-sama?" Junko and Momoe both called out.

"Hey, Asuka, what's going on?" Judai asked.

The group hurried the rest of the way down the stairs to join her, Manjoume having a feeling he knew what it was about. They all stopped around Asuka and observed the sight she was focused on. There was a group of girls practically clambering around one tall boy. He had his back turned to the club, but his long brown hair was perfectly visible.

"Where have you been?! We've missed you!" One girl exclaimed.

"Do you wanna go to Papiko with me?!" Another asked.

"No, go with me!" 

"We have _got_ to catch up! Let's go to Sea Paraiso together!"

"Please, I can't listen to all of you at once. I really have to go too." The boy said and rubbed the back of his head, obviously feeling bothered and not wanting to admit it.

Asuka clenched her fists and took a step forward, making the club focus back on her.

"N-Nii-san!" She called out.

Everyone froze and all the girls quieted down. The boy turned around, revealing deep brown eyes. He looked rather charming and friendly, but there was also something distant about his gaze.

"Asuka…" He whispered.

Silence fell over the room and no one really knew what to say. Clearly the person before them was Asuka's brother. Judai had no idea she had a brother, but then he remembered the name she mentioned yesterday while she was a Digihead. Was her brother Fubuki?

"Where have you been?! I've been worried sick about you! I haven't seen you all week!" Asuka shouted, her voice nearly cracking.

"Oh, Asurin… I'm sorry. I've been really busy lately and my friends have kinda been dragging me all over the place. I didn't mean to-"

Asuka suddenly ran up to him and punched him in the chest, nearly knocking the wind out of him and startling everyone else. He would have fallen back if Asuka didn't hug him right after.

"I was looking all over Mobius for you!!" She cried out.

"Ngh… I'm sorry… I'm really, really sorry." Her brother apologized and hugged her back, realizing how much he made her worry.

"Ah, Asuka… Is this your brother?" Judai asked even though he already knew the answer.

Asuka pulled away from him and let out a sigh to relax herself before turning around to face the club.

"Yeah. This is my brother, Fubuki." She said.

"Hello!" Fubuki greeted with a smile and a wave. "I see Asurin has a lot more friends than last time I saw her. And little Sho's here too! Nice to see you and Asurin hanging out together."

"Stop calling me that." Asuka groaned.

"H-Hi, Fubuki-san…" Sho nervously responded.

"Sho, you know Asuka's brother?" Judai inquired.

"Uh, just a teensy, teensy bit. We have a, uh… mutual acquaintance…" He clarified.

Fubuki couldn't help but drop his gaze to the ground at the way Sho worded it.

"Well, nice to meet you, Fubuki-san. I'm Yuki Judai and we're the Go-Home Club!" Judai introduced himself.

Fubuki went wide eyed. He looked from Judai, then to Asuka, then Mizuchi. It all made sense. Terrible, horrible sense.

"T-the Go-Home Club… You're the kid that told the Elites to send you home… So, Asuka…" Fubuki nervously looked at his sister.

"I'm ready to go home, Nii-san. And I want you to come with me." She said.

Fubuki nearly felt his heart stop. "Y-you do…? B-but why? Mobius is so nice. We're safe here! N-nothing bad can ever happen again."

"Nii-san…" Asuka put a hand on her brother's arm. "This place is fake. I'm tired of it. I want to face the real world again. I want to face my fears. We can't hide in this little bubble anymore, especially not you. I want… to seek help in the real world, and I want you there too. I'm not going back without you. Please, join the Go-Home Club with me."

Fubuki stared at her for what felt like forever until he finally shook his head. "I can't go. I'm safe here. _You're_ safe here. Nothing can get us if we stay here. If I go back out there…"

"Nii-san! You can't cower in the corner anymore! It's over with. It happened and it'll never happen again. You can only prove that by going back out there and seeing for yourself." 

"I'm not going, Asuka!" Fubuki swatted her hand away. "I'm staying in Mobius. Please, reconsider this."

"I've made up my mind and you're coming with me whether you like it or not."

Fubuki furrowed his brow and the two siblings stared at each other.

"Then you'll have to drag me back kicking and screaming."

Fubuki then walked past Asuka. As he walked by Mizuchi on his way to leave, the two glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. A few of the girls quickly ran after Fubuki while others left the scene, but one girl stayed behind.

"Asuka-sama…" Momoe worriedly called out.

"It's okay! He'll come eventually." Junko tried to reassure her.

"We'll get that guy on our side, Asuka-senpai! I guarantee it!" Kenzan proclaimed.

"But I don't believe chasing him down is the best idea right now. It might drive him away more. Give him time to cool down while we keep looking for the Elites." Misawa advised.

"Yeah, that sounds like the best option to me." Judai agreed. "I promise we won't leave until Fubuki-san is one of us though. Okay, Asuka?"

Asuka slowly turned around, feeling uncomfortable with the way the whole club stared at her.

"I'll hold you to that, Judai. Now let's keep asking around." She said, wanting to distract herself from her own problems.

"You guys said you're looking for the Elites, right?" The girl that stayed behind inquired, walking up to Asuka and holding out her phone. "A friend of mine sent me this picture they took at Landmark Tower."

The club crowded around Asuka to get a good look at the phone. On the screen was a series of texts with a photo from a low angle around a corner. It wasn't too obvious, but the three students shown from the back must have been the Elites. Below the photo was a text saying "Elites in Landmark Tower, what will they buy?".

"Why did you respond saying they have nice asses though?" Rei questioned.

The girl yelped and quickly pulled her phone away, stammering to get the right words out. "I-I-I-I meant to only show the photo! You w-weren't supposed to see that!"

"What do you mean 'they' though? Only one of them does." Momoe commented.

"Please tell me you think it's O'Brien or we have to stop being friends." Junko said.

Momoe practically gasped. "You must not be looking from the right angle! It's definitely Johan!"

"There is no right angle when you're looking at a _board_!" Junko shouted.

"The one who's a board is Jim!" Momoe argued.

"Jim is _not_ a board!" The other girl jumped in.

"Junko, Momoe! I am not listening to this argument _again_!" Asuka interrupted.

The three girls looked at her and immediately fell silent. Mizuchi couldn't help but let out a small chuckle and Rei snickered.

"I don't get it, why are they fighting over butts?" Judai questioned.

Misawa wanted to explain it, but had to stifle a laugh and couldn't respond.

Sho shook his head. "You wouldn't understand, Aniki."

"Yeah, when you're that short it's all you can see." Manjoume remarked with a snide grin on his face.

"I oughta- gah!" Sho tried to lunge at Manjoume, but Kenzan easily held him back by his jacket collar.

Asuka sighed. "Can we please just go to Landmark Tower now?"

"Oh, yeah! Uh, where and what is it though?" Judai asked.

"It's the tall skyscraper in the middle of the city. It's been under construction for years, but I hear that construction was halted even before I came here. People are allowed in despite that though, but it's mostly the troublemakers that go there." Misawa explained.

"Huh, I wonder what business the Elites have there…" Judai responded.

"Only one way to find out, don!" Kenzan proclaimed.

"Okay, Go-Home Club, let's go to Landmark Tower!" Judai announced.

"Yeah!!" The club members and Sho, Junko, and Momoe all exclaimed together.

Rei was the first to charge out of the school, followed by Kenzan. The others all followed after them, but Manjoume stayed put. He glanced at the other girl, who tensed up and walked away. Judai glanced over his shoulder and turned around.

"Not again, Manjoume. You're coming too." He said.

"Manjoume-san."

"Yeah, yeah." Judai grabbed Manjoume's wrist. "Now come on. We're not leaving you behind."

Manjoume was going to yank his hand away, but instead his eyes widened a bit. Judai… wasn't going to leave him behind. He simply scoffed and finally did yank his hand back.

"You guys do need someone competent to watch you all." He stated as he walked past Judai.

Judai just stared at the back of Manjoume before a smile appeared on his face and he ran off to catch up with the others. From high up on the stairs, the gray haired boy stood up and walked down to the bottom of the stairs, staring out at the school's front doors.

"Was that… Mizuchi?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one in Yugioh has an ass except the Elemental Heroes. Also yes, that is a meme you saw in my fic. I was half asleep when I finished this chapter and I tend to make funny decisions when I'm half asleep. I do not regret it.
> 
> Anyway, I keep forgetting I legit put a torture scene in this chapter... I guess as the writer it didn't really feel like much to me. I really put Johan through a lot though. Most of it is still WIPs, but geez. If he's not being possessed and committing war crimes then he's like, dying and shit. Sometimes both! Of course I tend to put characters in similar roles as their canon ones so... that's just what Johan gets relegated to. I'm sorry Johan, you don't deserve anything I do to you. None of them do! They're all good kiddos!
> 
> So, I wasn't sure how much of the next chapter I'd have done since I've been heavily distracted by the Aigami/Yugi event in Duel Links since you can essentially endlessly grind it and I wanted all the rewards cuz I am obssessed with Aigami even though it's not actually his event. Plus I was finishing up my second TCE playthrough, and I still have tears in my right now from beating it just about an hour or so ago, believe it or not, haha. I've really just been multitasking those two things so I haven't been writting much, but now that I'm done with both I can finish up the chapter since it turns out I'm actually almost done with it! So I'm sure I'll have it finished by the next schedule time! Which as per my counting will be Saturday at 8pm CST.


	4. Welcome to Landmark Tower - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, where do I start here? First off, I'm half a day late, I am well aware of that. I thought I would have the chapter done on time, turns out I was wrong. I initially planned for it to be a two-parter, then I cut some stuff out, then after some changes it turned out it'd still have to be a two-parter. My hyperfixation time ended and I lost motivation as well as some chronic fatigue making me too tired to actually do anything. Sat around for about a day. Then, on top of all of that, I had motivation to draw and spent two days doing that instead! And I ended up way too tired to edit and post last night and just said fuck it and went to sleep. And while I could have posted sooner, the chapter itself still isn't finished so I wasn't sure where I should break it for the first and second half. Also said fuck it since I think I have a proper vision in my head finally and I'm able to put the first half together to post it.
> 
> And also, I technically wasn't just fucking around and doing nothing, because when I was drawing it was art for this AU actually! Also fucked my hand up something bad from drawing so much at once, like my thumb is still sore. Anyway, I hope that makes up for being a bit late. Right now it's just four of the Go-Home Club members and I'll have the rest done at a later date, which I will also share, and will hopefully have more characters done aside from the club members eventually too!
> 
> The Tumblr post version technically counts as a spoiler since I state in the post how many club members there are in total, so there's also a link to the folder on my DeviantArt with the drawings posted there if anyone wants to avoid knowing that.
> 
> [Tumblr post](https://blairflannigan.tumblr.com/post/619549003255857153/finished-drawing-four-out-of-eight-of-the-go-home)  
> [DeviantArt Folder](https://www.deviantart.com/nyanberri/gallery/73638915/gx-caligula-au)
> 
> Also, as far as warnings go for this chapter/part, nothing really stood out to me as anything that needs to be warned for. So I'm choosing to say there are no warnings for this chapter, but as always, if there's something someone feels should be warned/tagged for then please let me know. Things that can easily bother or upset one person may not be obvious to another after all.

It was only a few minutes after the entrance hall of the school was cleared out that the three Elites returned to the campus. They were tired from being out all night and no one looked particularly up beat. Once they walked through the front doors, Jim dropped to his knees and hung his head. O'Brien and Amon stopped, glancing back at him.

"There's still other places we could look." Jim muttered.

O'Brien sighed. "Where, Jim? Where else is there? We searched every existing spot in Mobius. Even the places only we have access to. We couldn't find any trace of Johan or the other two Catharsis Effect users. It's like they disappeared."

Amon looked back to the middle of the school entrance, something catching his eye.

"They can't just disappear!" Jim protested. "Johan is somewhere in Mobius and every second we waste is another second something bad could happen to him!"

"Well what do you want us to do?! Look everywhere again?! We don't have the energy to keep this up." O'Brien argued.

"They're taunting us."

Jim and O'Brien quickly looked over to Amon. The redhead was standing near the base of the stairs, looking off into the distance. Jim got up and walked with O'Brien to where Amon was standing, looking in the same direction he was. There was a line of posters hanging on the far wall. Amon turned around and the other two followed. It was the same on the other side. Even the railing on the stairs had a few posters plastered on it. O'Brien walked up the stairs to grab one and came back down as he looked it over. Jim leaned over his shoulder to read it with him.

"This… this is… childish." O'Brien said.

"That's the takeaway you get from this?" Amon questioned and adjusted his glasses.

"It looks like a little kid made it. If anything it's a mockery. An insult even. To plaster this all over Kishimai so it's impossible to miss while we were away looking for Johan, who they _kidnapped_ , is below pathetic. It's like this is a game to them. His life, and as far as we know, the life of everyone in Mobius, is in danger because of them. And they're spending their time making posters with childish drawings to advertise themselves? Frankly, it pisses me off." O'Brien calmly ranted and tossed the poster over his shoulder.

Jim scrambled to catch it and looked at it for himself.

"Hmph, now that's more along the lines of the reaction I expected from you." Amon noted. "And Jim?"

The tallest of them stared at the poster for a few moments, seemingly studying the drawings.

"Does this look like that new guy to you two?" He asked.

O'Brien and Amon looked at the poster again.

"Uh, Judai, right? His hair does go out in the back like that." O'Brien observed.

"Sure, but so does Jim's and Johan's. That could be a few guys around here. It's not exactly very detailed either." Amon stated.

"Then who's in class 2-5? They could be using a room none of them belong to, but it's worth looking into the class roster to see if anyone even vaguely looks like these drawings." O'Brien suggested.

"...They took Johan…" Jim muttered.

O'Brien and Amon suddenly looked at him. His grip on the poster tightened and crumpled the edges.

"These are the people that took him… that hurt him. They were right here in our own school this whole time. They were here to put these up… to show themselves right to our faces… right where they would be… And we…. we were running all over town looking for them when they were right here." Jim quietly spoke.

"Jim…" O'Brien still didn't know the words to help.

"Not only that." Amon began, causing the other two to look at him. "They're also recruiting members. If we're too late for the day then they could already have more now. Innocent students that have no idea what they're getting roped into. They're putting lives at risk. Perhaps they even plan to use them as decoys. It really is sick."

"We can't let them get away with being this brazen. We will stop them and get Johan back." O'Brien turned to Jim. "We will, Jim."

Jim only nodded and folded up the club poster, stuffing it into his back pocket. He wanted to believe O'Brien, he really did. But he just kept imagining the worst case scenario happening. He didn't want to lose his family. He couldn't bear the thought.

"Alright, first things first. We get the class files from the front office and get all these posters out of here. We need to know who we're dealing with before we confront them." Amon said.

"Right." O'Brien and Jim both agreed.

The trio left the school entrance together to head down the hall towards the office. They would figure out who the Go-Home Club was, they would hunt them down, and they would eliminate them. There was no room for mercy when one of their own was in danger.

"Maaaan, why's it gotta be so far out?" Judai whined as he threw his arms up to stretch them." Couldn't we have taken a bus or something?"

"Exercise is good for ya. Keeps ya active, saurus." Kenzan said.

"I'm already active enough as it is! A twenty mile walk to a skyscraper that we're gonna have to search top to bottom is way too much activity! Look at my legs! They're sticks! They can't take much more of this!" Judai complained.

"Actually it's seven miles." Misawa corrected.

Judai let out a loud groan. "You can't take much more of this either, right, Sho? You've got the shortest legs out of all of us!"

Sho flashed Judai a mildly annoyed expression. "Can everybody stop acting like I'm as short as a five year old? I'm like, four-six last I checked. But, yeah. This sucks, I just didn't wanna complain."

"Maybe if you stopped slouching and dragging your feet it would hurt less." Mizuchi suggested to the brunet.

Judai glanced at Mizuchi. Her walk felt somehow formal to him, but he wasn't sure how he knew that. She kept her hands loosely placed in front of her hips with her head straight and legs together. He took Mizuchi for being very ladylike. Since she didn't have any memories, he wondered if it just came naturally to her.

He then glanced to Asuka. Her hands were kept at her sides and they only swung a little bit as she walked. Her back was kept straight as well. It wasn't quite ladylike like Mizuchi, but it felt like Asuka walked with confidence to him. Momoe had her hands positioned at her sides in a rather feminine way as she walked. With her palms outward and her fingers bent slightly. Also with her legs close together like Mizuchi. Junko, on the other hand, was hard to read since she was excitedly talking about something while she walked. There was a bounce in her step every once in a while too. If anything, she just confirmed herself as the more excitable one of the trio.

A bit behind the girls was Manjoume. Judai noted that he kept his hands in his pockets and focused his eyes towards that ground. He seemed to be slouching a bit and dragging his feet slightly as well. Judai at least felt relief that he wasn't the only one doing it. Misawa, on the opposite side of the group, stood up perfectly straight with his arms crossed and seemed to walk in a formal manner of his own. His strides were a bit long, but his slower pace kept him with the rest of the group.

Judai finally turned his attention to the three walking beside him and focused on Rei first. Unlike the other girls, Rei had a bit of a childish flair to the way she walked. Her arms were just a bit away from her body and she carried herself like she was on her way to meet up with some friends. Judai wasn't entirely sure what that was supposed to mean though. It was just the first thing that popped into his head. Kenzan walked with his hands behind his head and seemed to put his lower body first. Judai wondered for a moment if he was noticing Kenzan favor the right foot over the left. He didn't really know what to make of that.

And as Judai looked at Sho, something felt off to him. Sho took small but quick steps and didn't really bend his knees much. Judai tried to emulate it for a few steps and realized it made his hip bones feel weird. Not quite painful, but like it was still causing damage even though it didn't hurt. It also took more effort to walk. Sho really must have been worn out from all the walking, and yet he chose not to complain despite that. Judai was the one complaining even though he was faring much better than Sho was. He felt a little bad for it.

"Hey, Sho. Want someone to carry you?" Judai asked.

Sho looked a bit taken aback and Judai wasn't sure if he took offense to the question or not. In all honesty, Sho was thankful that Judai seemed concerned about him, but it only made him feel like a burden. He was struggling to keep up with everyone and didn't want to say anything in case they got annoyed with him. Judai was essential to the club, he could complain all he wanted. But Sho was just tagging along. He didn't have a Catharsis Effect and he wasn't even sure if he wanted to go home yet. They could all just get rid of him they wanted to. He didn't want to end up being the weakest link that everyone had to drag around like dead weight.

Sho shook his head. "I'm not a little kid! I don't need anyone's help. I'm just fine walking on my own."

"Ah… okay. Just, let someone know if you need to take a break, alright?" Judai advised.

Sho just frowned.

"You'll carry me if I get tired, right, Judai-sama?" Rei cheerfully said and scooted into Judai's personal space.

The brunet tried to side step away, but Mizuchi was a bit too close to his other side and he didn't want to bump into her.

"I don't think I'm strong enough to carry anyone, Rei-chan. Not even Sho. Kenzan'll probably carry you though." He responded.

"Hell no! She's gotta walk on her own, saurus. I'm not babying her." Kenzan refused.

"But what happened to protecting me?! Are you just dropping that now?!" Rei argued.

"Refusing to carry you has nothing to do with that! I'm just not gonna treat ya like a spoiled lil' princess!" He corrected.

"I am _not_ a spoiled little princess!" She shouted.

"I didn't say ya were, don!" He shouted back.

"Both of you, please. Be quiet." Asuka said as she glanced over her shoulder.

The group looked at her and the two fell silent. Everyone looked away from each other and got back to focusing on the walk. Manjoume stared at the back of Asuka though, a slightly concerned expression on his face.

"The Go-Home Club is certainly lively." Mizuchi commented in a hushed voice.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I think it gives the club charm." Judai whispered back with a smile.

Mizuchi stared at the brunet's smile for a moment. It was so genuine and bright that she could hardly believe it. She'd never seen a smile as pure as Judai's before. She hoped nothing would ever make it disappear, but her hopes weren't exactly very high.

"We're here, Landmark Tower." Misawa said.

The club came to a stop and everyone looked up. Judai was shocked to see how tall the building was up close. Misawa said it was still under construction and that was clearly evident by all the building materials on the property. There was even a giant crane holding up a steel beam that looked like it hadn't moved in forever. The skyscraper must have been mostly completed though, since it looked like a perfectly normal skyscraper. The inside was probably another story though.

Judai had to wonder what the tower was originally planned for and why construction stopped. In a place like Mobius he assumed everything would be complete, but perhaps something happened that warranted the need for it. He wondered if asking Kuriboh about it was possible at all, but now wasn't really the time.

"So we just go in and look around for the Elites, right?" Momoe asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. It's gonna take a while obviously, but we need to search the place from top to bottom to find them." Judai answered.

"The entire building…" Junko groaned.

"I believe the elevators work. Well, for the most part. So we could split up and search different sections to cover more ground quicker." Misawa advised.

"Sp-split up…? Oh no, no way! Splitting up is always a bad idea! Don't you know that?!" Sho protested.

"What do you think is going to happen inside?" Misawa responded, thinking Sho was overreacting.

"I do think it is the most effective way to go about this." Mizuchi agreed.

"Nah, you guys would get lost." Manjoume stated, making everyone look at him.

"Oh, and you wouldn't?" Kenzan retorted.

"No, I actually know the inside of Landmark Tower. Do any of you even know what it looks like in there? Construction makes it a practical maze. If you get lost and no one can find you it might take forever for you to get out. And no one's gonna wanna deal with that." Manjoume explained.

"Manjoume's got a point. If you know it well enough then you should lead us." Judai suggested.

"Huh? M-me?" Manjoume questioned with slightly wide eyes.

"Yeah, you're the resident 'Landmark Tower expert', right?" The brunet replied.

Manjoume just stared at him.

"How do you know so much about the inside of Landmark Tower though?" Asuka inquired.

Manjoume tensed up and turned away from her, rubbing the back of his head. "I-... I used to come here a lot with some other guys. That's all."

"Oh, like the other delinquents." Rei said, her tone sounding a bit demeaning.

"I said I used to!! I don't anymore!" Manjoume defended himself. "I'm better than those guys anyway. I don't need to keep myself caught up with that kinda weak rabble."

"There you go again, talking down about people in a place like this." Sho rebuked.

Manjoume scowled at him before turning around. "Practice what you preach for once."

Sho stared at him in shock as he began walking into the building and everyone stood around for a moment before hesitating to follow after him.

The inside of Landmark Tower managed to creep out Sho, Junko, and Momoe. The two girls grabbed onto one of Asuka's arms each and Sho gripped at the back of Judai's jacket. Even Judai, Rei, and Misawa got an unsettling feeling inside the building. It was cold and dark with concrete walls all around. Plenty of piping laid around on tarps, along with wooden and steel beams and other tools. It gave off the feeling that the workers just suddenly put things down and quit the job. There were no lights either and the windows were completely bare. Manjoume didn't seem too interested in anything around him, having seen it all a million times, and kept walking further into the building. No one wanted to get left behind, so they simply kept following behind him.

Thanks to the absence of much light, no one had noticed the two boys sitting in the corner behind a stack of beams. Static crackled all around their bodies and a black substance covered parts of their clothes and hands. They kept quiet as the club passed by, then shared a look with each other.

"Was that… Manjoume…?" One of them quietly questioned.

"Looked like it… Wonder what dragged his ass back here after so long." The other responded.

"Hm… why don't we find out. Maybe even… teach him what happens when he shows his face where he shouldn't." The first one suggested with a grin creeping onto his face.

"I couldn't agree more." The other said.

Manjoume stopped in front of the main elevator and faced the club.

"So you know there's nearly seventy floors here, right?" He asked.

Everyone looked a bit taken aback at that number.

"S-seventy? Geez, we're gonna be here all day, saurus." Kenzan commented.

"Are you sure we can't split up? I must admit the task does seem impossible to get done in one day." Misawa questioned.

"At the least I think someone watching the entrance would be a good idea. That way we could know if the Elites leave if they're still here. Plus I doubt one could get lost at the entrance of all places." Mizuchi suggested.

"Oh that's actually a really smart idea!" Judai agreed.

Manjoume took a moment to think. "Well, if they don't go anywhere else on their own then I doubt it would cause a problem."

Momoe immediately threw a hand up in the air. "I would like to volunteer!"

"M-Momoe!?" Junko exclaimed.

"S-sorry… This place is just way too creepy." Momoe apologized.

"It's okay, Momoe. If you don't think you can handle it then you shouldn't have to. You can wait at the entrance." Asuka assured her.

"T-Thank you, Asuka-sama!" Momoe responded.

Junko suddenly grabbed Momoe's hand. "You shouldn't have to wait around by yourself though. That'd still be scary, right? Lemme come with you. We can wait together."

"J-Junko…" Momoe nodded. "Right! We can watch the entrance together, can't we?"

"Doesn't matter how many people go. If anyone else wants to wait back there then go ahead." Manjoume said.

No one else took up the offer. Sho briefly considered staying behind, but he would rather stick with Judai than not. And Kenzan knew asking Rei to stay behind would be a useless endeavor.

"I guess it'll just be you two then. Will you girls be fine by yourselves?" Misawa inquired.

They both nodded.

"If anything weird happens or we spot the Elites then we'll text Asuka-sama." Junko said.

"I'll make sure I keep a close eye on my phone then. And if you do spot them, don't try to stop them. I doubt they'd do anything rash, but we don't wanna annoy them or anything like that before asking to go home." Asuka advised.

"Right, we promise!" Momoe replied.

And with that, the two girls made their way back to the entrance of Landmark Tower. Everyone gave a small wave to them before they disappeared into the darkness.

"I really hope they'll be okay alone." Asuka muttered.

"You all keep sounding as though you expect something bad to happen. Is there something about Landmark Tower that I don't know?" Misawa questioned.

"It's just a place where bad people hang around, nothing more." Manjoume said. "We'll go ahead and go to the second floor and start there. Might be a tight squeeze with this many people so just put up with it."

He pressed the call button for the elevator and only had to wait a few seconds for the doors to open. Everyone packed in a bit close to each other with Sho right in front of Judai, Rei between him and Kenzan, and Mizuchi in the corner. She pulled out her phone and stared at the screen for a moment before tapping away on it. Manjoume pressed the button and the doors closed to take them up.

Junko and Momoe stopped at the front doors together and stood around.

"Uhh… would you rather wait outside? I still don't wanna actually be in here." Momoe asked.

"Yeah, it just being the two of us honestly makes this place seem creepier. I'm sure waiting on the other side won't make a difference. We're not actually supposed to stop the Elites so I doubt seeing them outside first would matter." Junko responded.

Momoe let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good. I'd rather breathe fresh air than whatever's in this musky place anyway."

As the two girls walked through the doors, the boys were crouched down behind a pile of pipes.

"Weren't those girls with Manjoume?"

"Yeah, but they don't matter. It's Manjoume we're looking for."

"He musta gone on ahead. Let's go."

They both stood up and headed for the main elevator.

A far distance outside Landmark Tower, the gray haired boy stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the skyscraper. His face bore a serious and somewhat mournful expression. Landmark Tower wasn't somewhere he wanted to go, not ever again. The sound of footsteps behind him made the boy quickly turn around. Darkness stood across the street. It was silent for a moment as they both stared at each other.

"You're with them, aren't you?" The boy spoke up.

"Who, exactly? The Go-Home Club?" Darkness responded.

"Don't play stupid, you know who I mean." The boy said, sounding annoyed.

Darkness was quiet for a moment. "You're that boy he's spoken of… Edo, right?"

"Nice to know he hasn't forgotten about me." Edo sarcastically commented. "Now tell me why Mizuchi is with them. You know her, right? His sister."

"And what if I do? Why does it matter to you?" Darkness questioned.

Edo clenched his fists. "Don't dodge my questions. I'm not explaining anything to you."

"And neither am I." Darkness responded.

"Then we're at a stalemate." Edo stated.

Darkness raised a hand and his rapier materialized before him, followed by his spike and flowers. "I would argue that we're not."

Edo's blue eyes widened and he tensed up slightly. "What are you, an Egohead too?"

"It doesn't matter. Now leave. I'd rather not hurt anyone else." Darkness warned.

Edo gritted his teeth. There was nothing he could do. He was powerless.

"Tell Saiou he better be ready for a reunion, 'cause this is all ending soon whether he likes it or not." Edo said.

"I'll not be your messenger boy. You can tell him that yourself." Darkness refused.

With a huff, Edo fled into a nearby alley. Darkness lowered his rapier and it disappeared from his hand, along with his spike. He sighed before turning to look up at Landmark Tower.

"What _are_ they planning anyway?" He questioned aloud.

A buzzing in his pocket made Darkness pull out his phone. He checked the notification and let out another sigh.

"Why do I have to be the only one that doesn't resort to extreme violence…? It just puts all the heavy lifting onto me." He muttered to himself.

Darkness put his phone back in his pocket and continued on his way to Landmark Tower.

The elevator doors opened on the second floor and Sho and Manjoume practically shoved each other out.

"I told you to stop it with that crap!" Sho shouted.

"Oh please, one little joke and you practically explode!" Manjoume complained.

"You used me as an armrest!!" Sho yelled. "That's not a joke!"

"Can we please not fight, guys?!" Judai interrupted as he got between them and pushed them away from each other.

"Just apologize, Manjoume-kun. You know he's sensitive about that. And it was rude." Asuka said as she stepped out of the elevator.

"I am _not_! Everyone else just keeps bringing attention to it!" Sho denied.

"It was a _joke_ , Tenjoin-kun! I don't get what the big deal is!" Manjoume argued.

"Usually a joke results in everyone involved laughing about it." Misawa noted.

"Well I laughed about it!" Rei commented.

"We know, don. I think my ears are still ringing…" Kenzan grumbled.

Mizuchi was the last to step out of the elevator and put her phone away. "Perhaps this should be the least of our worries when we have other matters to attend to."

"Yeah, what Mizuchi said." Judai agreed. "It was rude and uncalled for so just apologize, Manjoume. Then we can keep looking for the Elites."

"I'm not apologizing for shit." Manjoume refused.

Sho just scowled at him.

Judai groaned. "Alright, then can we just drop it and you promise not to do it again?"

"We'll see." Manjoume responded.

"It shouldn't be 'we'll see'! You should know better! What have you been here for four years for if you didn't learn that?!" Sho argued.

"I haven't learned anything here!" Manjoume shouted, static flickering around his arms for a split second.

"Stop it!!" Judai yelled.

Everyone fell silent and stared at the brunet, no one knowing what to do.

"Please… please don't fight. You two aren't officially in the club, but I still consider you both honorary Go-Home Club members. I don't want any of us to fight. I want us all to get along. I want us to be friends together and work as a team to go home. So… I want everyone to like each other. Is that so hard to ask for?" Judai said.

"It is, Judai." Manjoume stated. "Obviously losing your memories made you forget how cruel the world is. No one cares about anyone, only themselves. The weak get pushed aside in favor of the strong who do the pushing. And those who are strong are not good. They'll crush anyone who gets in their way or fails them. Your precious little teamwork is a farce. The weak who band together will never be able to push the strong. That's just how it is."

"But the weak can become strong! That's why we need to band together! All of us!" Judai claimed.

"You don't get it!! The weak are born weak and the strong are born strong! The weak can be born among the strong, but that doesn't make them strong! It just-" Manjoume's gaze dropped to the floor. "It just makes them get left behind…" 

Judai and Sho stared at him. Sho couldn't help but feel the same way. He was weak, trapped by the strong with only one way he saw out. Was that the case for Manjoume too?

"You guys do whatever you want. Split up, I don't care. I'm gonna search on my own. Fend for yourselves. Or band together if that's really what you think'll help." Manjoume said as he turned around.

Judai wanted to stop him as he walked away down the hall, but Sho grabbed the brunet's hand. Judai looked back at him and sighed.

"Manjoume-kun…" Asuka quietly called out, but she got no response.

"That weak versus strong stuff kinda came outta nowhere." Kenzan noted.

"I think he was calling us all weak for working together as a club. Oh, and that Sho-senpai is weak for not finding the joke funny." Rei commented, causing Sho to glare at her.

"Is he going to be okay though? Should someone go after him?" Misawa asked.

"Perhaps he needs time to cool down. He's the only one that knows the layout of this place, but I would think as long as we take it one floor at a time then we shouldn't get lost even if we do split up." Mizuchi suggested.

"Yeah, screw getting lost! We can split up into groups so that way no one's alone!" Rei agreed.

"And stickin' to one floor means even if someone did get lost we could still hear 'em shoutin' too, saurus." Kenzan added.

"Judai, what do you think?" Mizuchi asked.

Judai looked at Mizuchi with a slightly surprised expression. "Why ask me?"

"Oh, aren't you the club president?" She inquired.

Judai thought for a moment. "Am I?"

"The club _was_ your idea Judai. This was all spurred on by you. I suppose you should be considered the club president, even if we aren't exactly an official club." Asuka said.

"Yeah? M'kay, guess I'm the president then. Uh, I can't imagine splitting up on the same floor would be a bad idea though. As long as we split up the right way we should be fine." Judai decided.

"And how exactly do we split up the 'right' way?" Misawa questioned.

Judai was hoping what he meant by that would be clear to the others. Although Misawa and Mizuchi not getting it was to be expected, which was why he chose his wording carefully.

"Oh!" The meaning suddenly clicked with Asuka. "Well without Manjoume-kun with us, we can't rely on him to know the layout. We should split up in ways that pair up people with good direction skills with those who think they'll get lost easily."

"I'll make sure Judai-sama won't get lost then!" Rei decided.

"I highly doubt ya know where you're goin' around here, Rei-chan." Kenzan denied and she let out a groan.

"Would you mind if I went with you, Judai?" Mizuchi requested.

She took a step towards Judai and he felt Sho's grip on him tighten.

"I still don't think we should split up at all." Sho muttered.

"We'll be fine, Sho." He told the shorter teen before looking back to Mizuchi. "Sure, Mizuchi. The three of us'll be a group."

"Thank you." She responded with a small smile.

Asuka glanced at Rei and Kenzan before looking at Misawa.

"How about you and I group up, Misawa-kun." She offered.

Misawa looked a bit surprised. "O-oh… Well I can't exactly say no to the school beauty, now can I?"

It was a relief to Judai and Asuka that no group was without a Catharsis Effect user. While there didn't seem to be any hazards at Landmark Tower, the events of yesterday made Judai worry that anything could happen at any moment. Someone could turn into a Digihead for any reason or other Digiheads could show up. The Elites putting up a fight was always a possibility too even if it seemed unlikely. Judai just wanted to make sure the club had all their bases covered.

"I guess we should all head in different directions. If anyone runs into Manjoume-kun then try to convince him to come back if he's cooled off a bit. I'd hate to just leave him here, even if he knows the place." Asuka advised.

"Yeah, and let's all meet back up at the elevator so we can go to the next floor together." Judai added.

"Got it, we'll be real thorough for any signs of the Elites, don." Kenzan responded.

"We'll hogtie 'em if we have to!" Rei exclaimed.

Mizuchi let out a slight chuckle. "That seems a bit extreme, but I like your enthusiasm, Rei-chan."

Rei couldn't help but smile in response.

"Alright, Go-Home Club, split up!" Judai announced.

Each group went off in their own direction. Asuka and Misawa headed right from the elevator while Kenzan and Rei went left. Judai, Sho, and Mizuchi went straight ahead.

It wasn't but a few feet until Mizuchi pulled her phone out again and stared at the screen. Sho thought it was odd that she wanted to go with Judai. In fact, she seemed strangely focused on him since joining. Sho hoped it was just because they both didn't have any memories and she felt a connection to Judai because of it, but it still didn't sit right with Sho. He couldn't pinpoint anything off about Mizuchi though. He wondered if it was just a sense of jealousy getting in the way.

Sho's thoughts were disrupted by Judai pulling his hand out of Sho's grasp to open a door. The trio walked inside the empty room for a bit to look around for any hint of the Elites having been there. Mizuchi put her phone away to glance around before it was decided the room was a dead end. The trio left and returned to the hall.

"It would be nice if we could find them fast." Sho commented.

"Yeah, it's still crazy that this place is so huge. We only just started and yet it's already the afternoon. If we don't find them soon it'll take forever. What's with this place anyway? Do you know why it's incomplete, Sho?" Judai responded.

Sho shook his head. "It's been like this for as long as I've been here. Manjoume and Misawa-kun have been here longer than me so if they don't know much then I know even less. I have heard that way far up on the higher floors there's a place that looks like it exploded though. But I've never been here so I dunno if that's true."

Mizuchi couldn't help but glance at Sho.

"An explosion, huh… even though everything's supposed to fix itself? Maybe that's why construction stopped. But I still wonder why Mobius has a place under construction anyway." Judai contemplated as he opened another door down the hall.

"Perhaps Mobius isn't that old." Mizuchi said.

"Hm?" Judai looked at her. "Yeah, I guess that's possible. It mighta been the last place that was being built. Kinda hard to consider that everything in Mobius was built instead of, like, poofing into existence or something though."

The trio fell silent as they scanned the other empty room and began to walk back out. They continued down the hall to the next room and stepped inside to search. Mizuchi pulled her phone out once more and stood still as she stared at the screen. Judai finally turned to watch her for a moment while she typed something.

"You got a friend or something?" Judai asked, realizing after the fact that he might have sounded rude.

Mizuchi looked up at him and put her phone away.

"Oh, sorry. I do, actually. I hope it doesn't make me look uninterested in searching for the Elites. It's just important I respond to him is all." She explained.

"Ah, no worries. It's good ya got a friend here. Especially since you haven't been here long either. And… can't remember anything too. Ya think he might be interested in joining?" Judai replied.

Mizuchi stared at Judai for a moment. "Him joining huh… I suppose that depends on him, but for now he seems to rely on Mobius a lot. Maybe he can go home on his own one day though."

"Oh, yeah. I think I've been so caught up in trying to leave that I forgot other people wanna stay to recover before leaving the right way." Judai said.

"Does your friend know you wanna leave?" Sho inquired.

Mizuchi didn't know how to answer. She felt her phone buzz, but she ignored it. There was a window in the room that she glanced out of. Mobius was a beautiful haven, but it was fake. If she said she wanted to leave, what would _he_ say? There was no way to know, but she didn't think she wanted to know. He was too dependent. The very idea would send him on a rampage.

Sho and Judai glanced at each other, wondering why Mizuchi was so quiet.

"Have you… not told him?" Judai asked.

Mizuchi looked at Judai's bright brown eyes.

"No, I haven't." She said.

But maybe Judai could.

Across the building, Rei and Kenzan stood in front of a locked door.

"Okay, go for it!" Rei exclaimed.

"Yes, ma'am." Kenzan sarcastically grumbled.

He kicked the door as hard as he could and the lock broke, flinging the door open. Rei ran in to look around before quickly running back out.

"Nope, not here either. Next one!" Rei announced and pointed down the hall.

She and Kenzan began walking down the hall to the next door. It was strange to them that the doors they came to were all locked. It didn't seem like the Elites would be in a locked room, but as the Elites it stood to reason they would lock a door if they were taking care of official Mobius business. Kenzan just hoped they didn't get in trouble if the Elites did happen to be behind a locked door.

Kenzan glanced at Rei, who looked rather cheerful despite their dark surroundings. He was happy to see it actually. He could tell it was genuine, which made him happy too. He couldn't wait to get back to the real world and see her even happier like she used to be.

"Hey, Rei-chan." Kenzan began. "What're ya gonna do first when we get home, saurus? Uh, if ya don't mind me askin'."

Rei looked up at him with a curious expression. "First, huh…? I hadn't thought about that. Well, I guess first-first I'd have to go home. Then I'd apologize to my parents."

"You're parents, huh? Yeah, I'd heard they were real devastated when ya went missin', don. I heard the whole neighborhood pitched in to comfort 'em too." Kenzan responded.

Rei groaned. "Hey, don't make me feel bad! They tried real hard to get me back on the straight and narrow and I just _had_ to go and make them worry again. They didn't even do anything wrong… I was just good at keeping stuff from them."

Kenzan looked off at the wall for a moment. Apparently that was something they both were good at.

"So what're you gonna do first?" She asked.

"Hm… Uh, I guess go outside, saurus." Kenzan said.

"Outside…? You're taking your own question too literally. Like, do you have anyone you wanna apologize to? Some place specific you wanna go? Something you never gotta do before? Ugh, outside." Rei complained.

Kenzan just chuckled. "Sure, it doesn't sound like much, but it's a big deal to me, don."

Rei's eyes widened a bit. She suddenly felt bad for assuming. There was no way for her to know what Kenzan's situation was. She could always ask, and he seemed like an honest person, but it was still rude to do in the first place. Even though they lived in the same neighborhood they had never spoken to each other. They didn't share any friends and they were a year apart in the real world so it wasn't like they had the same class together either. Since Rei came to Mobius first too, there was nothing she knew about back home that could clear things up for her. She had her own things going on at the time too, so she didn't pay attention to much happening in their neighborhood. Although, it was odd to her that Kenzan only said he 'heard' things.

Was he perhaps stuck inside his house? She did recall that she stopped seeing him around outside at one point, but she wasn't sure when exactly that was. Either way, something happened to Kenzan and he no longer went outside, regardless of whether he had the means to or not.

"You'll get out!" Rei exclaimed. "And then you and me can hang out whenever! Oh, and the whole club can even meet up together too! It'd be awesome to see Judai-sama in the real world! And if you don't go outside, then we'll all come visit you anyway!"

Kenzan looked surprised before smiling. "That's nice, Rei-chan, but I'd rather get out before anyone sees me like that, don."

They stopped in front of another door and Rei stared at him before nodding. She was only more curious than before, but once again, prying wasn't the right thing to do. She freaked out when he revealed he knew her secret after all. She didn't want him to react the same way. It was time to drop it though, they had more pressing matters to deal with, like breaking down the door in front of them.

"Okay, open it up!" She ordered.

Not too far away, Asuka and Misawa heard a loud slam and stopped in their tracks.

"I hope whoever that is isn't tearing the place apart." Asuka sighed.

"At least the damage should fix itself once we leave." Misawa stated.

"True." Asuka responded as she grabbed the handle of the door beside her and tried to open it. "Huh? Weird. This door's locked."

"That's odd. I think I could try busting it open." Misawa offered.

"No thanks, I got it." Asuka refused.

She backed up and lifted a foot up, slamming it into the door and breaking it off the hinges. Misawa's eyes widened and he took a few steps back. He would have to make sure he never did anything to anger Asuka.

"Oof, good thing Mobius makes pain hurt less." Asuka commented as she stepped inside the room, but stopped to look at Misawa. "What are you just standing there for? Come on."

"Eh, r-right…" Misawa slowly approached her and stood in the room with her.

They looked around, but saw nothing of interest and turned around to leave.

"Do you even think they're here?" Asuka suddenly asked. "Who knows how long ago that photo was taken and it did take a while to walk here."

"Oh, I highly doubt it." Misawa stated. "But that doesn't mean they _aren't_ here, so it's good to check anyway."

"I suppose you're right. I just wish this could be a bit easier." Asuka said.

They came to the next door and stopped in front of it. They both thought for a moment that it would be locked too, but then they noticed it was slightly ajar. The handle was just barely hanging off the door as well. They glanced at each other, suddenly hesitant about going in.

"Do you think we found them this easily?" Misawa quietly questioned.

"Only one way to find out." Asuka responded.

Misawa felt suspense well up inside him as Asuka slowly pushed the door open. Inside was another empty room with a whole row of large windows on the other side. It took them both a second to notice the student staring out the window with his back to them. The hair finally caused them to realize it was Manjoume.

"Manjoume-kun! There you are!" Asuka exclaimed as she rushed inside the room, followed by Misawa.

Manjoume tensed up and turned around to face them.

"O-oh… Tenjoin-kun, Misawa. I guess you guys split up?" 

Misawa nodded. "Have you calmed down now?"

Manjoume scoffed and turned back around, leaning on the windowsill. Asuka put a hand on Misawa's shoulder for a moment and he looked at her. She walked up to Manjoume and stood in front of the window next to him. Manjoume just glanced at her. Misawa stayed where he was, understanding that Asuka wanted to handle the situation herself.

"That can't really be how you feel, is it?" Asuka finally spoke up.

Manjoume sighed. "It is. I know it first hand."

"Maybe you just don't think you've met the right weaklings." She suggested.

Manjoume glared out at the city skyline. "You're talking about Judai."

"He's different. He chose not to mope around about being here. He decided he was going to do something, and now he is. He got this club together too. Does that seem weak to you?"

Manjoume gripped at the windowsill. "Thinking throwing a ragtag club together is gonna change the minds of those in power for all of you, not just himself, is what's weak. They promised they'd send him back and him alone. He decided he'd _help_ others and send them back too. He can't promise that. He can't promise anyone anything. That's not the deal they made and there's no way the Elites are gonna agree to it. Judai's an outlier in Mobius. Not you, not me, not Misawa, or Sho or anyone else. It's just disrupting the status quo."

"Status quo? Why do you care about that all of a sudden?"

"I've been caring about it! Everyone has their place! Sho gets mocked for being a weakling and scares off people with his attitude. You're the most beautiful girl in school. Everyone fawns over you and your brother like you're celebrities. Misawa's a brainiac that no one listens to. And I'm- I'm a self centered jerk that acts all high and mighty 'cause of my family name that no one here cares about…"

"That's what you think of yourself? Well you do have quite the attitude, even worse than Sho, but you're the one that gets so hung up on your name. Everyone is equal here. Nii-san and I aren't a couple of famous rich kids in Mobius, and we don't act like it. You still act like you're the youngest brother of the Manjoume Group even though that doesn't matter here. You have no power in Mobius. That's why no one treats you the way you think you should be. And that's why you shouldn't act like you can do whatever you want without consequences."

Manjoume slammed a fist down in the windowsill. "That's the thing! Even back home I don't have any power! People think I do and I'm supposed to act like I do and then they pretend I do, but in a place where no one cares, I don't know how to act! I only know how to pretend I'm strong when I'm really weak! And then when no one cares, I crumble! I wasn't taught how to deal with it! They didn't teach me anything! They were strong and I was weak and I had to pretend to be strong to survive! The weak _can't_ be strong, Tenjoin-kun, they can only pretend in order to survive until surviving becomes too much and they prove how weak they are!"

Static flickered around Manjoume's arms and Asuka wondered for a second if it was real. Misawa wanted to say something to help, but Manjoume was right. No one did listen to him. It wasn't like he knew the right words anyway. Approaching footsteps made Asuka and Misawa look behind them.

"Hey, who's shoutin'?" Kenzan called out as he walked into the room, Rei popping her head out behind him.

"Just Manjoume. We found him." Misawa answered.

Manjoume scowled at them as he glanced over his shoulder. He would have prefered to be alone, but now everyone had to come crowding in and bothering him.

"Can I just be left alone? Geez." He grumbled.

"Is that what you want?" Asuka asked.

"Yes!" He exclaimed.

Asuka sighed. "Alright. Out of the room, guys. You heard him."

"Huh? Just like that?" Misawa questioned.

"Well you want him to cool off, right?" Asuka responded as she started to walk past him.

"Well sure, but…" Misawa trailed off as he stared at the back of Manjoume.

Kenzan and Rei backed up to make room for Asuka to step out into the hall. They both looked at each other before looking to Asuka with somewhat confused expressions.

"Don't worry." She assured them. "We're not leaving without him. I'm hoping Judai can talk to him."

Misawa walked out and stood next to Asuka. "Have you both finished looking where you can?"

"Only if you guys have." Rei said.

"Aniki and them've probably got the other side covered, don." Kenzan responded.

"We should head back to the elevator then. See what Judai wants to do." Asuka suggested.

The other three nodded and they all turned down the hall to return to the elevator. Behind them were two other pairs of footsteps that emerged from around the corner of the hall. The two boys watched the club members get further away until they were out of sight.

"So… Manjoume's in there…?" One questioned.

"Sounds like it… Let's go." The other ordered.

Now alone again, Manjoume let out a sigh. It was just as it was supposed to be. He wanted to be alone. He shouldn't have let himself get dragged off by Judai, but… Judai's words still echoed in his head. Judai wasn't going to let him get left behind. So then why did Judai let him walk off? Obviously because things had to return to the way they were supposed to be. No matter how hard Manjoume tried, he was just meant to be alone.

First his parents left him before he even got so much as a chance to have either of them in his life. Then his brothers left him behind at every chance they got until Manjoume couldn't take it anymore. Then every bond he tried to form either ended with Manjoume leaving, or everyone else leaving. And now Judai promised to not leave him behind, but that was exactly what was happening.

He wanted to form bonds, but he didn't know how to act _normal_. It wasn't the way he was raised. He wasn't even raised at all. He always tried to be the stronger person which just complicated matters. In his old life it was the only way to survive and get people to notice him, but things were different in Mobius.

Everyone was equal.

Manjoume didn't understand 'equal'. He always saw being equal as being worse. If he wasn't better than everyone then he was worse than them. And being worse tarnished his brothers' image. And doing that got him stuck in Mobius. The place where he didn't have a reputation to worry about. So then why did he act like he had a reputation to uphold? That was right. It was the only way he knew how to act. It was a vicious cycle, one he didn't know how to break out of. He couldn't change the status quo, and he believed Judai had no hope of doing so either.

Manjoume continued to stare out the window. Landmark Tower was one of the few places he knew he could be alone, but it left a sour taste in his mouth after the last time he swore he would never come back. Once again he was parting ways with people he thought he could have a glimmer of hope in while there. Perhaps the building was cursed to ruin bonds. Or perhaps Manjoume was the one that was cursed. Cursed from birth even.

The sound of footsteps walking into the room made Manjoume groan. They were back. He was waiting to hear Judai's annoying voice asking him to come back with them.

"Maaanjoumeee…"

He tensed up. That wasn't Judai. That wasn't anyone in the Go-Home Club. Manjoume quickly turned around to see two students standing inside the room with him, essentially blocking his only way out. The shorter one had dark blue hair with small glasses and the taller was tanner with spiky brown hair. A black substance covered random patches of their uniform and their arms. Static crackled all around their bodies and their smiles were wide with dead looking eyes. A glare of pure hatred filled Manjoume's own eyes and static flickered around his arms.

"Torimaki… Mototani…"

Junko and Momoe sat on the ground on either side of Landmark Tower's front entrance. A look of boredom rested on Junko's face while Momoe distracted herself by drawing in the dirt with a small stick. Junko let out a huff and glanced at Momoe's drawings.

"Do you even think they're still here?" Junko muttered.

"The Elites? I dunno." Momoe responded. "But if they are then we'll know 'cause they'll walk out right in front of us."

"Yeah. At least that means we don't actually have to do anything then." Junko agreed.

Momoe smiled and nodded.

The sound of footsteps approaching made both girls look forward. Entering the fenced off area around Landmark Tower was Darkness. The girls felt nervous thanks to his disguise, but they didn't want to cause an issue if he was just walking into the building. A stranger's business had nothing to do with them. Unfortunately, he stopped a bit away from them and looked at the two girls.

"U-uh… d-don't mind us! We're just waiting for a friend." Junko told him.

"I'm really sorry about this." Darkness suddenly apologized.

Junko and Momoe both tensed up and got to their feet. They thought for a moment that the man's voice was familiar, but that wasn't exactly their biggest concern at the moment.

"S-sorry for what…?" Momoe hesitantly questioned.

Darkness's rapier materialized in his hand, followed by his spike and flowers. Both girls stepped towards each other and latched onto one another in fear.

"Th-that's a…" Junko started.

"...Catharsis Effect." Momoe finished.

Darkness's eyes widened a bit under his mask. How did they know? No, of course they knew. They were with the Go-Home Club. But then… who in the club had a Catharsis Effect too? And how did they know what it was called?

Darkness ignored his questions for the time being and raised his rapier. The girls gasped and started to back up together. He hesitated before rushing forward and slashing at both girls. As they screamed, they fell back and through the front doors of Landmark Tower, both of them hitting the floor with a thud.

"A-Asuka-sama…" Junko groaned before her eyes closed.

Darkness let out a sigh before his Catharsis Effect faded away and he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He dialed a number and held it to his ear before reaching into his other pocket and pulling out a small hand written note. As the person on the other end answered the call, Darkness tossed the note onto the ground.

"Hey, it's done. I'm about to have my hands full so tell Mizuchi yourself." Darkness spoke into the phone.

"Good work. Honest is currently waiting for you. Kaiser has completed his mission as well, so go meet him at the school rooftop afterwards." The other person said.

"M'kay. Hey, uh…" Darkness trailed off, not sure how to say it.

"What? Did something get in the way?"

"No, uh- well… maybe. I-I'm not sure."

"...What do you mean you're _not sure_?"

"I ran into someone on the way here. It was that Edo guy. He said to tell you things are gonna end soon."

There was a long pause before a loud crashing sound could be heard, followed by a distant angry scream. Darkness had to hold the phone away from his ear for a moment. He heard a second voice on the other end for a split second before the call disconnected. Darkness stared at his phone in concern before putting it back in his pocket.

"I'm not gonna like going back after that…" He muttered to himself.

He bent down and lifted up Momoe to sling her over one of his shoulders before doing the same with Junko. He turned around and simply walked out of the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how to properly describe normal walking styles, or as I have discovered they are called, gaits. I think? I dunno. I did research but it didn't really help me, and it wasn't your average 'how do people walk' type of research either. I have a surprisingly small vocabulary when it comes to normal things.
> 
> Speaking of normal things, the way I walk is not one of them! I kinda modeled Sho's walk after a version of my own since I... ehh, what's the best way to word it? I know I walk weird due to neurodivergency I suppose is how I can say it. Nah, lemme be mean about it cause this is my walk. I walk like a human child mixed with a penguin or a small round bird. Ya know like those ones with backwards legs... Wait, I think they all have backwards legs... See, I don't know common normal things! Anyway, that's how Sho walks! Uh, at least here. In canon I'm pretty sure everyone's legs are all animated the same. Budget, ya know?
> 
> So, schedule time. I was so certain I'd have the chapter done on time, then it got out of control. I have the rest for part two sitting off to the side, and I have a much clearer idea about how to keep it going now, which means I've got better motivation. So! I'm gonna say the next chapter will post in the usual four days, Thursday morning this time since it's Sunday morning, but I dunno about the time specifically since I can't predict how early I'll be up by then. But after that, I don't wanna put a date on the next chapter yet just to make sure I don't end up missing it again. I'll probably have a clearer idea of when I'll be finished with it by the time I post part two. So, we'll see then!
> 
> Also, can someone please give Darkness a break? He's too nice to be dealing with all this.


	5. Welcome to Landmark Tower - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who woke up early and decided he didn't need to draft the chapter yet and then fucking _fell back asleep_ like the chronically fatigued dumbass that he is??? This dude!!
> 
> Anyway! Important tidbit time! I spent a lot of time previously trying to figure out how to say this, but that helped me actually decide some things I was indecisive about. So, to put it in the simplest way possible, I'm adding two other ships to the story. They won't be a focus like Anikiship is, so they don't matter to the plot and therefore can be ignored if you didn't come here for them unlike Anikiship. I also adjusted the tags so it's no longer implied that Anikiship is only onesided and has actually been added to the relationship tags. Again, it's the only one that matters, so that's why it's the only one tagged. I've done a lot more thinking about what I want to do with the plot of this fic, which is why it was changed, but at the same time, I want to make it clear this story is not a romance. The ships aren't the main focus(and even with Anikiship, their relationship is important regardless of whether it's romantic or not anyway) so I don't want to give off the impression that a love story is the end all be all of this fic.
> 
> Okay so, I'm gonna go get a glass of milk first, finish this shit, then pass the fuck back out because, holy shit, this boy is sleebpy. Seriously, I slept twice already. Why am I tired again?
> 
> **Chapter Specific Warnings:**
> 
> -Child abuse mention  
> -Suicide mention

Somewhere deep in the unknown depths of Mobius, a cellphone was thrown into the hard steel wall. It fell to the ground as a scream echoed within the large room. Pale hands slammed down on the metal table in a fit of rage. The culprit was a man with extremely long blue hair and blank purple eyes. He bore the Kishimai uniform as well as a purple tie.

"Will you cram it with that incessant screaming?! What's your problem?!" A rather childish voice demanded as the owner walked into the room.

" _Edooooo_!!" The man took a moment to catch his breath. "Now?! Of all times?! He has to decide _now_ he wants to crawl out of the shadows from where he hides like a little coward and dare to claim this will all be over soon?! That little- ugh, bilge rat!!"

Only a sigh came from the other person in the room. "Is that not the definition of us? Either way, he didn't matter before and he certainly doesn't matter now. And with the power we have compared to last time, there's even less he could ever do against us now. He's all talk and no bite."

"I _know_ that!! It's his ego that pisses me off! Thinking he can show up again out of nowhere after seven years and finish our business! I want him dead! I want him found and I want him dead! Now!!" The man yelled as the stomping of his shoes echoed beneath him.

The other person rolled their eyes. "Then warn Mizuchi that he's out there. Now what else did Darkness say? Did he complete his job?"

The man ran a hand through his hair and leaned over the table a bit. He punched the surface and tried to calm himself. He couldn't show weakness to Edo. He was the superior one. He would always win. He was sure of that.

"Yes, he did. He will be meeting Honest shortly, then rendezvousing with Kaiser after."

"And what did Kaiser say?"

"He completed his objective as well. Everything is going… _smoothly_. There is no need to worry."

The other person just stared at him and crossed their arms. "Uh-huh. And your little fit just a moment ago certainly proves that."

"There is nothing to worry about!!" He slammed a hand down on the table again before quickly recomposing himself. "Ahem, yes, well… the matter of Edo will be dealt with swiftly the next time he rears his… _ugly_ little head out from the shadows."

"I expect no less. I can't have anything getting in the way of my reunion with my beloved."

"Of course, of course! You will have the boy, we will have the Goddess's power, and I will have Edo's head. Finally, the last pieces will fall into their place after all these years and Mobius will be our heaven to control forever. No one will be leaving… _ever_ again."

Both of them smirked at the idea. They would have everything they ever wanted at last. They were so close to years of work finally paying off and it was already a glorious feeling.

Back at Landmark Tower, Asuka, Misawa, Kenzan, and Rei all reached the elevator. They were barely there for a minute before Judai, Sho, and Mizuchi rounded the corner to join them.

"Oh, hey. I take it we're all done looking around?" Judai said.

"Yep!" Rei responded.

"Didn't find another soul here." Misawa stated.

"Manjoume-kun's still busy pouting though." Asuka said.

"Ah, we should probably do something about that then." Judai said.

"Can't we just leave him behind? It's not like he's in the club anyway." Sho suggested.

"You wouldn't like it if we left you behind, right, Sho?" Judai responded.

Sho groaned, suddenly feeling a bit bad. "Yeah, good point."

"What say we go get him before we move on then?" Judai suggested.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say." Asuka said.

Judai smiled. "Sooo… you guys know where he is?"

"Yeah, he's in one of the far back rooms, saurus." Kenzan said.

Asuka was the one to take charge and lead the way. Everyone followed her on their way to meet back up with Manjoume. She hoped either Judai or Manjoume would be willing to reach out to the other. While Manjoume didn't have to go back to the real world, she would have liked to see him change his mindset, at least before she left. He was such a difficult person, but Asuka still held out hope for him.

Manjoume felt his back hit the wall as Torimaki and Mototani slowly crept closer to him. They dragged their feet with each step and didn't seem to be able to stand up straight.

"How's the great Manjoume-san doing on his own?" Torimaki mockingly asked.

"Ya must be on top of the world, huh? Do ya like it up there? Do ya feel so high and mighty looking down on all us lower class kids?" Mototani practically interrogated him.

"That's not- that's not how I feel at all…" Manjoume mumbled.

"Ohhh, it's not? What, do you think you're worthless like you deemed us, then? Like we don't deserve anyone's time? What do _you_ deserve then? Huh?" Torimaki questioned.

Manjoume shook his head. He didn't deserve anything. He didn't deserve what he was born into. He was weak, he already proved that. He fought so hard to keep up with everyone around him that it started to become all he knew. Even despite having everything, it felt like he had nothing.

"Well, what is it, _Manjoume-san_? Are you the greatest there ever was? Are ya soooo much better than the likes of us? Are ya better than those weirdos ya came here with? Is that why they're not with ya? Did ya cast them aside too 'cause they couldn't keep up with your greatness?" Mototani inched closer to Manjoume, a disgusted look on his distorted face.

"Or are you nothing? Are you at the bottom of the barrel like everyone knows you really are? Are you gonna stop acting finally and show everyone you're even worse than us? Kids who find life to be nothing but suffering. Knowing no one cares about us. Knowing no one will miss us. You don't miss us, and no one will miss you either." Torimaki dragged himself closer, a look of fear filling his wide eyes.

Manjoume gripped at his head, seeing his older brothers in their places. He bit his lip as he whined and dropped down to his knees, the static around his arms crackling out of control. He couldn't get their faces out of his mind. Them looming over him and berating him endlessly. The words they spewed at him. The things they blamed him for.

He was a useless child that took up too much space.

He wasted time trying to grow up instead of working to be successful.

He embarrassed them at every chance he had.

His grades were never up to their standards.

He made a laughing stock out of himself.

He tarnished the company's reputation.

He was destined to be a disgrace to the family and that was why his father died.

His mother would still be alive if he was never born.

He was weak. And now he was alone. And that was what he deserved. He was stuck in a vicious cycle. He pretended and pretended and pretended until it was the only thing he knew how to do. And when he didn't need to do it anymore, he didn't know how to stop. He was cruel and ruthless and horrible to everyone around him and acted like no one could be better than him because it was all he was and all he knew how to do. But that was all it was. Pretending for the sake of survival. None of it was real. He was worthless and weak, just as he had determined Torimaki and Mototani. Just as he determined the Go-Home Club. And just as he determined Judai, the one trying to break the cycle.

_"Egoheads, kuri!"_

Judai stopped in his tracks. He wasn't expecting to hear Kuriboh. And what as an Egohead? Was it not a Digihead? What was the difference?

"Aniki… you okay?" Sho asked, turning around to look at Judai with a concerned expression.

_"And a Digihead alert! Hurry! Help him, kuri!"_

Judai's eyes widened. "Digihead…"

Mizuchi immediately stared at Judai, unsure if she heard him right.

"M-Manjoume! Manjoumeeee!!" 

Judai rushed past the club, confusing them until it clicked for everyone except Misawa. They all hurried after him and Asuka cursed herself for leaving Manjoume alone.

"Manjoume!!"

Manjoume lifted his head up at the sound of Judai's voice. Torimaki and Mototani stopped and looked over their shoulders as Judai ran into the room and slammed the door into the wall. The rest of the club followed shortly after, but stopped in the doorway.

"Manjoume, remember! Control your emotions! Accept them! Let them out and accept them!" Judai shouted at him.

Manjoume glared at the brunet as he slowly got to his feet.

"Accept them, huh? What- what am I supposed to accept? That I'm… w-weak…? That I'm a lost cause? That I pretend to be strong because I literally can't do anything else? I'm useless and I'm awkward and I don't know how to just be fucking _normal_!! If I'm not at the top of everything then what even am I?! Is that what you want me to accept?! Is it?!" Manjoume shouted at him.

"Yes!!" Judai exclaimed.

Manjoume's eyes widened. He just had to accept it. He needed to accept that that was who he was. And that was okay.

He suddenly lurched forward and held a shaky hand close to his chest. He felt like something pierced right through his body and cut off his air. He slowly looked down, seeing a spike poking out of his chest. Around it were several small white hydrangea flowers. A few petals scattered across the floor. He steadied his breathing and tried to recompose himself.

_"Catharsis Effect achieved, kuri!"_

"You- you did it! Manjoume-kun, you did it!" Asuka cheered.

"What… in the world just happened?" Misawa questioned.

Mizuchi simply looked on with an expression of amazement on her face, not caring that her phone buzzed in her pocket.

"I… did it…?"

Manjoume stared down at his hands. As he balled them into fists, a pair of twin daggers materialized in them. One was pitch black and appeared to radiate small shadows while the other was pure white and sparkled like a diamond. He hadn't noticed yet, but the end of his uniform jacket grew to extend to the floor and was made out of dark shadows that faded away at the end, making it look tattered.

"So this is the form my Catharsis Effect takes. Feels fitting in a way."

He flipped them so he was holding them in a reverse grip and looked up at the two Egoheads.

"Torimaki, Mototani… listen up, 'cause you only deserve to hear this one time."

They both scowled at him.

"I am Manjoume Jun, youngest brother of the Manjoume Group! I may be weak, but I have worth! Worth that I'm going to prove by going home and kicking my brothers' asses! And I'm gonna kick your asses first! Then I'm gonna kick the Elites' asses and get us all home! We're the Go-Home Club, and we may be weak, but we're all equal!! Let's go, Judai!"

"Manjoume…" Judai got a giddy grin on his face as he materialized his Catharsis Effect. "Right! Kenzan, help out! Asuka, protect the others!"

"You got it, Aniki!" Kenzan exclaimed and materialized his own Catharsis Effect as he rushed to stand beside Judai.

"Everyone back up, leave this to them." Asuka advised.

"I have a Catharsis Effect and wanna help too! It's not fair!" Rei whined.

Judai looked over his shoulder at her. "Rei-chan, there's not enough room. That thing is huge. Save it for a time when you can really show it off. I wanna be impressed, okay?"

Rei's eyes lit up and she blushed a bit. "A-ah… R-right! I'll blow your socks off when you guys finally see it in action!"

"Aniki, Kenzan-kun… don't get hurt!" Sho called out.

They both looked back to Sho and nodded at him as Asuka forced him to back up into the hallway.

"Please explain what in the hell is going on, Asuka!" Misawa frantically requested.

"We'll explain later, just stay put so you don't get hurt." She told him.

Mizuchi stared through the doorway, her eyes fixated on the black wings on Judai's back. Their shape was somehow familiar to her, like she'd seen them before. More buzzing from her phone distracted her, but she chose to ignore it.

"Man…jou…meee…!!"

Torimaki and Mototani both lurched forward before throwing their heads back. Giant floating rings materialized from static behind both of them. They were pitch black with a light blue glow on the inside of each layer. The Egohead's eyes also turned black and static flickered over their faces, even distorting their voices.

Manjoume was first to strike, rushing at Mototani with lightning speed. Judai assisted by brandishing his sword and coming at Mototani from behind. A yellow sphere suddenly encased him, making Manjoume and Judai strike it instead before causing them both to be propelled back. They slid back on the ground and groaned as they tried to get to their feet.

"Hell was that, saurus? A shield?" Kenzan wondered. "Fine! I'll just bust right through it, don!"

Kenzan charged up one of the rockets on his gauntlets, hoping he had better control of it now. He aimed for Mototani's shield, but Torimaki used the rings behind him to slam into Kenzan, knocking the teen into the wall.

"Ugh, I guess we're still not great at this fighting thing." Judai muttered as he held up his sword again.

"Speak for yourself. I'm gonna prove how skilled I am." Manjoume declared.

He brandished his daggers as the shield around Mototani faded away. He charged at the Egohead again, but the rings behind Mototani fired a laser from the center and blasted at Manjoume. He tried to stop and block it, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Manjoume was thrown back by the blast with enough force that he went right through the window.

"Manjoume!!" Judai shouted.

The brunet ran past Mototani and jumped out of the shattered window.

"Aniki! Are ya crazy?!" Kenzan shouted after Judai as he got up.

Kenzan couldn't focus on the other two as Torimaki threw a punch at him. He blocked it with his gauntlet and punched Torimaki back, knocking the Egohead back a bit.

"Manjoume, you okay?!" Judai asked.

Manjoume looked up to see Judai holding onto his wrist with one hand. The wings behind Judai were flapping just a bit and Manjoume realized they were both in the air. He panicked and kicked his legs around, causing Judai to descend a bit. A small electric shock emitted from one of Manjoume's daggers and almost made Judai drop him.

"Hey, chill out or we're gonna fall! I don't even know how I'm doing this!" Judai exclaimed.

"What do you mean you don't know how?! Your stupid wings work, that's how!!" Manjoume practically screamed.

"Huh?" Judai looked over his shoulder and gasped at the sight of his wings. "How long have I had those?!"

"You didn't know?! Judai, you fucking idiot!! Get me back up right now or I swear I will fucking kill you!!" Manjoume yelled.

"Stop yelling at me!! I will! Lemme figure this out first!" Judai let out a sigh as he observed another small shock of electricity course through Manjoume's other dagger. "Alright, I think I know an idea, but ya gotta work with me here."

"Fine, whatever it is, just don't you dare drop me!" Manjoume agreed.

Kenzan ducked to avoid a laser blast from Mototani that pierced through the wall and created a whole in it. He barely had any time to catch his breath before Torimaki shot off another one and he scrambled to move out of the way as another hole was left in the wall. He charged a punch at Mototani, who dodged and kicked Kenzan in the back, knocking him to the ground.

"Argh, damn it, Aniki! This is the second time ya've left me like this, saurus!" Kenzan complained to himself as he got up.

Mototani shot another laser and Kenzan nearly tripped trying to get out of the way. The wall behind him crumbled from the blast and the others hiding in the hall screamed. Kenzan cursed himself. He had to keep them out of harm's way. If Judai and Manjoume didn't come back then he'd have to call Asuka for help, but that didn't mean the others wouldn't still be at risk.

Torimaki and Mototani both aimed the rings behind them at Kenzan. He braced himself and put up his gauntlets to protect himself. It was all he could do. If he hit one, the other could still strike him. He just had to hope whatever his Catharsis Effect was made out of would be strong enough to withstand both blasts at once.

In the hall, Asuka took a step forward to help Kenzan, but a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop. She looked over to see Mizuchi standing next to her.

"Let me handle this." Mizuchi said.

Asuka looked shocked and wanted to stop Mizuchi, but she found herself unable to say anything. Mizuchi walked past Asuka, confusing Sho and Rei, and her phone continuously went off in her pocket. She knew she would get chewed out for it later, but for the time being she would make her own decisions. Mizuchi would do the right thing.

Torimaki and Mototani fired their lasers at Kenzan, and in that moment a spike extended from Mizuchi's chest surrounded by pink orchids. A large round mirror materialized in front of Kenzan and absorbed the laser shots as they almost struck him. Kenzan realized nothing happened and he lowered his gauntlets a bit to check. Two smaller mirrors appeared beside him and each one shot out a blast of black energy at both Egoheads, sending them flying back into the wall.

"Wh-what in the…" Kenzan turned around to see Mizuchi casually walk up to stand next to him. "M-Mizuchi-senpai…?"

"They're not done for yet. Don't let yourself get distracted." She advised as the mirrors disappeared.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Kenzan nervously responded and focused back on the Egoheads.

They both got back onto their feet and shook their heads, each letting out a growl. There wasn't much in the way of physical combat that Mizuchi could do, so she had to leave most of the work to Kenzan. She opted to take a step back as Torimaki charged at her and Kenzan jumped in the way to sucker punch him, knocking him to the ground. Mototani fired another laser blast at Kenzan from where he was, but one of Mizuchi's mirrors appeared in the way to absorb it. Before she could fire it back, the ceiling cracked and she paused for a moment to look up. She thought she saw electricity shoot out of it.

"Get out of the way!" She shouted.

"Huh?" Kenzan looked back to her, not knowing what she was yelling about.

The entire ceiling shattered in a burst of electricity and painful screaming could be heard as Judai and Manjoume descended from the floor above with their weapons pointed down at the ground. As Manjoume's daggers pierced the floor, electricity shot through the floor and electrocuted not only the two Egoheads, but Kenzan and Mizuchi as well. Everyone let out more pained screams and the floor cracked, causing it to collapse underneath them. They all dropped to the floor below, along with the rubble around them.

"Aniki!!" Sho called out.

He ran inside the room and stopped at the edge of where the floor broke through. The other three quickly joined him and Rei got down on her knees.

"Judai-sama, Kenzan! Are you guys alright?!" She worriedly shouted.

"Manjoume-kun! Mizuchi! Is anyone hurt?" Asuka questioned.

Judai groaned and rubbed his head as he stumbled to his feet. He glanced around for a moment before looking up.

"I feel like I got roasted…" He grumbled.

Kenzan was next to sit up, followed by Mizuchi. A sudden raucous laughter made everyone look around for the source. Manjoume practically jumped to his feet and raised his daggers above his head.

"Guess what I can dooo!! Aaaahahaha!! No more Manjoume-san for me! I'm Manjoume Thun-" His daggers suddenly electrocuted him. "Gah-ah-ah-ah-ah-...dur…"

Manjoume fell back onto the ground and everyone winced at the sight.

"Guess that's gonna need some getting used to." Judai commented.

"Nice to see you two are okay, but was that necessary?" Mizuchi asked as she stood up.

"Sorry about that. We didn't really think any of that out much. Uh, nor did we know the range of the 'shocky-shocky' part." Judai paused for a moment as he spotted the spike in Mizuchi's chest. "Wait a minute… Mizuchi, did you get a Catharsis Effect while we were gone?"

"Yeah, I wanna know 'bout that too, don." Kenzan added as he got up.

Mizuchi put a hand over the orchids around her spike and looked away for a moment. As she opened her mouth to finally respond, Asuka suddenly jumped down from the floor above and landed next to Judai, making him yelp at her sudden appearance.

"A-Asuka!" Misawa shouted.

"What? You guys jump too!" She responded.

"Uhhh… do you maybe wanna rephrase that?" Sho asked.

Asuka sighed. "Hurry up and come down here."

Rei immediately stood up and leaped off the edge. As if by reflex, Kenzan quickly moved in the way to catch her. She landed perfectly in his arms and she practically bounced out and onto her feet with a giggle. Sho and Misawa shared a look with each other, both of them seeming nervous. Misawa let out a sigh and jumped next, landing on his feet and stumbling before losing his balance completely. Kenzan held a hand out and helped him to his feet.

"Can you make it, Sho?" Judai called out.

Sho nervously pressed his fingertips together. "Um… I-I dunno."

"It's not scary at all, ya big baby! Just jump!" Rei shouted at him.

"Stop saying it like that!!" He yelled.

"Oh please, even I got no problem wording it like that!" She responded.

Judai glanced over his shoulder for a moment. Getting an idea, he took a few steps forward and jumped up. His wings flapped as if he was flying and he was able to make it back up to the floor above, floating at the edge in front of Sho.

"Okay, c'mon, Sho." He said.

Sho stared at Judai with wide eyes. It was almost like Judai was an angel of some kind. Except angels usually had white wings. He hesitated before getting to his feet and stepping closer to the edge. Judai held his arms out and with a small leap, Judai caught Sho in his arms. Sho whined at the feeling of being suspended in the air. His feet dangled and he was afraid either he or Judai would lose their grip. Thankfully, Judai descended back to the ground without a problem and Sho felt relieved to feel the floor beneath his feet again.

"Strange… wings of that size in proportion to a body of Judai's size shouldn't be able to lift anything at all. It's more like you float and the wings are simply for show." Misawa observed as he leaned in close to inspect the wings.

Judai wanted to step away, but Sho still hadn't let go of him so he couldn't move.

"Uh, yeah. It's weird, but… so is Mobius in general." He responded.

"Really, what in the world is going on here? Judai flying, Manjoume electrocuting everything, Kenzan summoning giant gauntlets, Mizuchi's floating mirrors, and not to mention whatever happened to those other two." Misawa questioned.

"It's kind of a lot to explain." Asuka said.

"Wait, that's right! Mizuchi! You gotta explain how you got one too!" Judai suddenly remembered.

Mizuchi's shoulders tensed up and she looked away from the rest of the club again. "It just… happened a few days ago is all. I don't know what it is, but I know how to use it. It sounds to me like you all know a lot more though."

"Ya did it all on your own, saurus? And not even with the fuzzy guy's help? Wait, Aniki, what was that guy's name again?" Kenzan questioned.

"You mean Kuriboh?" Judai responded.

Mizuchi's eyes widened, questioning for a moment if she heard Judai right. She couldn't have, there was no way that was what Judai said. But it was, and it didn't make sense. It should have been impossible.

" _What_ is the fuzzy guy? Please, may we get a proper explanation on all… this!" Misawa demanded as he waved his arms around to symbolize 'this'.

"Oh, right. You are in the club so you should probably know. You too, Mizuchi." Judai said as he glanced down at Sho, who still hadn't let go of him. "The fuzzy guy, Kuriboh, I think he lives in my head or something. He explained the Catharsis Effect stuff to me. It happens when you let out your build up of emotions and they become a Catharsis Effect. If too much negative emotions build up and you don't let them out, then you become like those guys did. Kuriboh called them Egoheads instead of Digiheads though, but I dunno the difference."

"Okay, okay, okay. Hold on. This 'fuzzy guy' lives in your head? And told you all this?" Misawa questioned.

"I saw him too so ya can't say Aniki's crazy, don!" Kenzan said.

"Mass hallucinations are a thing, you know!" Misawa exclaimed.

"Are you going to suggest all of that just now was a mass hallucination?" Asuka responded.

"Uh- ah… W-well…" Misawa sighed. "Judai does have wings on his back. The floor did collapse. Manjoume did knock himself out by electrocution."

"I'm over here, dumbass. Did no one see me get up?" Manjoume suddenly questioned.

Everyone looked over to the side to see him standing in a different spot than where he fell at. They really didn't hear a sound from him. He was standing over Torimaki, who was lying on the floor completely out cold. Not too far away was Mototani, also knocked out. They appeared to be free of the black substance that covered half their bodies earlier.

"Hey, who were those guys anyway? They seemed to know you!" Rei wondered.

"Torimaki Taiyou and Mototani Raizou." Manjoume said. "Former friends of mine. I used to come here with them a lot back when I first got here. I… ended up parting ways with them though. It wasn't real civil either. I didn't know they were still hangin' onto that stuff."

"They're only knocked out from the looks of it." Asuka noted. "I don't think this is the same situation as it was with me and Rei-chan."

"Yeah, I didn't even stab them. They seemed to have a lot more control over themselves too. Maybe that's how an Egohead is different. It's like, stronger or something." Judai suggested.

_"Pretty close, kuri."_

"Huh?" Everyone looked at Judai.

_"An Egohead is a Digihead that has been one for long enough that it regains control of itself. They are unique in that, while Catharsis Effect users can't become Digiheads, if pushed far enough over the brink, they will become Egoheads instead, kuri."_

"That's not good." Judai muttered.

He repeated what Kuriboh told him back to everyone else and a tension fell over the club. Even though most of them achieved catharsis already, they were still at risk of losing control of themselves. They needed to make sure they didn't let too many negative emotions build up in them again. If it was harder to become an Egohead compared to a Digihead, then they doubted there was too much to worry about though. But still, even if they knew how to channel their emotions better, they still couldn't predict what would happen. No one even expected Egoheads to show up and attack them. They couldn't keep their guards down just because they had Catharsis Effects.

Manjoume looked back down at his former friends. They must have become Digiheads a long time ago. He wondered if it was their festering hatred of him that made it happen. Was he to blame? Was casting them aside what caused them to be consumed in such negativity? Did he feel guilty for that? As he watched them lying there motionless, he realized he felt nothing. If anything he felt bad about that, but as far as emotions towards Torimaki and Mototani went, there didn't seem to be anything. It wasn't like Manjoume ever cared about them anyway. He only hung around them because all three of them shared a similar hatred for everything around them. They felt like the world was full of weak idiots and only the three of them were smart enough to realize it. Then Manjoume decided they were weak too, and that was the end of it. He parted ways with them after vile words were spewed on both sides and Manjoume quickly moved past it. Torimaki and Mototani had been holding onto that betrayal for two years though. Manjoume didn't have to wonder what that kind of deep seated hatred felt like. He already knew it far too well.

"What do you wanna do about them, Manjoume? They're your friends, right?" Judai asked.

"They're not my friends. I don't care either." Manjoume said.

He walked away down the hall and stood around the corner, waiting for everyone else. They all looked back to each other and Kenzan was first to act. He walked up to Torimaki and picked the unconscious teen up.

"Someone get the other dude, don. Let's just put 'em against the wall." He said.

Misawa took the job upon himself, feeling confident that he was the only other person strong enough. He picked up Mototani and joined Kenzan at the wall. They both sat the two boys on the floor and against the wall so they would be out of the way. They would wake up eventually, but the club had to wonder how much they would remember. Would they forgive Manjoume, or just put it past them? Or would they hunt him down again? There was no way to know.

Kenzan and Misawa walked back to the rest of the club and everyone stood around for a moment. Landmark Tower was surprisingly quiet. Despite the situation being resolved, an uneasiness still hung in the air. Mizuchi finally took the time to check her phone and Judai looked down at Sho again.

"Ya know, you can let go of me now." He said.

"Huh?" Sho looked up at him and immediately tensed up. "O-oh, sorry."

He released his grip on Judai and backed up a few steps. The brunet rubbed the back of his head and chuckled a bit.

"Was I that comfy or something?" Judai jokingly asked.

Sho felt his face starting to burn so he quickly turned around and nervously pressed the tips of his fingers together.

"I think Judai-sama's comfy!" Rei exclaimed as she ran into the back of Judai and hugged him.

"R-Rei-chan! You gotta stop it with that stuff!!" Judai whined.

Kenzan came up to them and picked Rei up by the back of her uniform jacket. She let go of Judai out of confusion and Kenzan simply walked a few feet away before setting her back on the ground.

"At least five feet, saurus." He said.

Rei gasped. "You can't decide that for me!"

She tried to go around him, but Kenzan blocked her path. Getting fed up, she jumped at him and tried to climb over his shoulder.

"W-woah, Rei-chan! What the hell?!" Kenzan exclaimed as he tried to push her off.

"She's like a squirrel…" Misawa commented.

Judai backed up a bit and Sho hid behind him. Asuka just sighed as she walked up and yanked Rei off of Kenzan.

"I know it's nice to have a moment to relax and let loose, but there's no need to act like that. Please control yourself and understand that other people have personal space too." Asuka said.

Rei looked up at her as Kenzan let out a sigh of relief. She pouted for a moment before getting over it.

"Ngh, okay. Fine." Rei grumbled.

"Well, I'm glad that's all behind us." Misawa said. "This is still, ah… very weird and strange to me, but I guess I'll adjust to it."

Judai nodded. "Yeah, there's still a lot we don't know either about all this, but as long as we can get the Elites to send us home then the details don't matter."

"That's a surprisingly nonchalant way to look at it, but I like it. I suppose sweating the small stuff isn't going to get us anywhere after all." Misawa agreed.

"So are we still gonna keep looking for the Elites, or what?" Manjoume questioned from down the hall.

"Well, I can't imagine anyone else didn't hear or feel the floor break if there's others here. So if the Elites were here I would think they would come down to check on what happened." Asuka pondered.

"If they were on their way down right now do you think we should wait?" Sho asked.

Mizuchi finally put her phone away and looked at the rest of the club. "I think for the time being we should check on Junko and Momoe. We were only on the second floor so I doubt they missed hearing all that."

Asuka took a moment to glance at her own phone. "I haven't gotten any messages from either of them, but it might be best to let them know what happened."

"'Kay, then we meet up with Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai and figure out what to do from there, don." Kenzan said.

"To the front entrance!" Rei exclaimed and ran off past Manjoume.

"It's the other way." He plainly stated.

Rei immediately turned around and kept running. "To the front entrance!"

Judai and Misawa chuckled while Mizuchi smiled as Rei ran by them. Kenzan let out an exasperated sigh and followed after her. Asuka and Mizuchi were next to leave, followed by Misawa. As Judai started to join them, Sho walked with him. Judai stopped though and turned around to make sure Manjoume wasn't staying behind. Judai found him standing in front of Torimaki and Mototani and walked back to join him.

"You guys had a falling out, right? Do you wanna apologize to them?" Judai asked.

Manjoume took a moment to simply stare at the duo. He recalled many a conversation the three of them had. Mocking classmates for the rumors surrounding their reasons for being in Mobius, talking down about those who made it out as if they were going right back to a hellscape, referring to everyone else as weak simply for being in Mobius at all. Manjoume began to realize something. It was all a part of their own trauma. The things the three of them had been through were terrible. They only felt better about themselves when they pushed others down. It was that same cycle all over again. They were weak, but they pretended to be strong. But they did it by ridiculing others who were weak too. It didn't make them strong at all, it just made them insecure bullies.

That wasn't what Manjoume wanted to be. He was tired of wallowing in his own misery and bothering other people to the point he drove them away. He wasn't going to be like that anymore. He would solve his problems at the source. He would go home and confront his brothers, no matter what happened in response. He would stop running and finally fight back. He just had to get out of Mobius first.

"No, I don't." Manjoume finally answered. "I just pity them."

"Hm? If they've got stuff to work out then don't you wanna help them? You already managed to help yourself at least." Judai suggested.

Manjoume looked at the brunet. "I didn't _help_ myself. I just accepted who I am…"

"But that's good! Accepting things should be the first step. Then you can figure out what to do a lot better."

"What I'm going to do is go home. I'm ending all this crap, once and for all."

The glare in Manjoume's gray eyes worried Judai a bit. Manjoume must have held a deep contempt for his brothers. Whatever happened between them was likely what led to Manjoume coming to Mobius.

The idea of everyone around him having been driven to consider killing themselves started to weigh on Judai. No matter how happy and cheerful everyone seemed, they were all still carrying heavy baggage that threatened to end their lives. Mobius was likely the only thing that saved them from going through with it. Manjoume wanted to die. Asuka wanted to die. Kenzan, Rei, and Misawa wanted to die. Even Junko and Momoe wanted to die. And so did Sho. As did the four Elites, Fubuki, Torimaki and Mototani, and every single other student in Mobius. They all wanted to die. Judai wanted to go home, but he wanted to help them too. Just simply gaining a Catharsis Effect and choosing to go home wasn't enough to rid them of their pain. Everyone was still hurting so much.

And what of Judai? He couldn't remember anything, and neither could Mizuchi. He was so certain there was nothing that could have caused him to want to die, but the more he learned in Mobius, the less certain he grew. What if he had gone through something horrible? What if going home put him in a situation he had been desperate to get out of? Would he even remember once he got back to the real world? Did he want to remember?

He couldn't let himself get caught up in thinking about that right now. He had to focus on getting everyone home, no matter what.

"We'll go home, Manjoume. I promise." Judai said.

Manjoume narrowed his eyes at the brunet before turning around.

"I don't need you to promise me anything. I know it's going to happen, because I'll _make_ it happen."

Manjoume began to walk away and Judai just stared at him before glancing back to Torimaki and Mototani. Judai ran off to join Manjoume and the two rounded the corner together to almost bump into Misawa.

"Oh, there you two are." He said. "Uh, we need you to show us the way to the entrance, Manjoume. It's a dead end that way."

They noticed the rest of the club awkwardly standing around further down the hall.

"Ugh, you guys are hopeless. It's this way." Manjoume said as he walked in the other direction.

"Only around here!" Rei exclaimed. "I could give everyone a tour of Papiko blindfolded!"

"I suppose I could say the same for the public library." Misawa commented as everyone walked past him.

"If we end up having to go there at some point then we'll rely on you, Misawa." Judai said with a smile.

Misawa sighed. "Thank you, Judai."

The club collectively followed Manjoume to the entrance. They walked past the main elevator that they entered earlier and down the hallway before coming to the entrance hall. There was no sight of Junko and Momoe and the front doors looked like they had been busted in. Asuka froze and felt her heart stop for a moment. Everyone else stopped to look around.

"W-where's Junko and Momoe?" Asuka nervously asked.

"Junko-senpai! Momoe-senpai!" Rei called out as she walked through the front doors.

Outside it was starting to get late. The sun was going down and Rei realized just how long they had been out. She turned around to walk back inside and found Judai crouching on the floor with Sho and Kenzan staring over his shoulders. He picked up a piece of paper in front of the doors.

"We have the girls. Come to the public library. Signed, Elites… of Mobius?!" Judai read aloud.

Misawa, Manjoume, and Rei came up to crowd around him and get a look at the note for themselves.

"Sooo, the Elites kidnapped Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai, don?" Kenzan asked.

Asuka gasped and covered her mouth with her hands before dropping to her knees. Manjoume quickly ran over to her and crouched down to put a hand over her shoulder. Mizuchi did the same on the other side, but she couldn't bring herself to look at Asuka.

"Th-they… they… They took Junko and Momoe!! W-we let them be alone! We left them alone and they- they _kidnapped_ them!" Asuka cried, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Asuka…? H-hey, calm down! We'll get them back! We'll go to the library and get Junko and Momoe and it'll all be okay!" Judai promised.

Asuka shook her head. The feeling that overcame her knowing her only two friends that meant the world to her were taken against their will completely crushed her. It happened again. And she wasn't able to do anything about it. She felt like she was back in her bedroom again and she desperately wanted to pull the blanket over her head and wait for it to be over with. She could see Junko and Momoe struggling in her head, trying to get away and call for help, but the words she heard sounded like her brother's voice. She tried to hold herself back, but a choked sob came out and she struggled to make sure she wouldn't start crying in front of everyone. None one really knew how they could help her.

"Th-the Elites would never do something like this, right? They're nice guys, aren't they? They wouldn't kidnap two girls and hold them hostage after they made a promise to Aniki." Sho hoped.

"Well, I for one know Amon can be kind of a prick. But outside of how secretive they are, I've only heard good things." Manjoume said.

"I've heard O'Brien get called antisocial before. Also that Jim's kinda obnoxious, and Johan's a little _too_ nice. Plus that Amon's a bit rude. But aside from him, none of that's actually a bad thing." Rei noted.

"Considering how mysterious they are though, it's entirely possible no one knew they were capable of doing something like this. They probably have their reasons too, as horrible of an act as it." Mizuchi said.

"I hate to agree with that, but it's a good point." Misawa added. "I can't fathom they would do this just for the sake of doing it. I can only conclude they have something waiting for us at the library and feel like they need to use Junko and Momoe as leverage to get what they want from us. As the Elites they must be capable of far more than us, so for them to resort to this… it must be something serious."

"Sure, or they're just fucking with us 'cause they decided they don't want _anyone_ going home." Manjoume argued.

"But they're the Elites!" Judai exclaimed. "They're the ones in control of Mobius and Mobius is meant to help people. As off putting as some aspects of this place may seem, the whole point is to do good for others. They want us to go home if we're ready, so they wouldn't be so desperate to make us stay."

"Ya know, what if that's why the process is so difficult?" Kenzan wondered. "The harder it is to leave, the easier it is to stay, saurus."

"Don't start dragging this into conspiracy theory territory. People do leave, it happens all the time. Besides, they're normal humans just like all of us. They wouldn't benefit from keeping other people stuck in Mobius." Sho protested.

"Wait, but then that just brings up a ton of questions. Who made Mobius then? And who put them in charge?" Judai asked, his mind becoming flooded with too many theories.

"Aniki! Did you really think they made Mobius?!" Sho responded.

"Well all you told me was that they're in charge! What else was I supposed to think?!" Judai shouted.

"No! I also told you they chose not to go home! Everyone knows that about them!"

"Well then I forgot! But that still raises the question of who made this place! And what if that person had the wrong idea about them and they're actually really bad guys and are only just now showing it?!"

"That's just ridiculous! Why would they pick now of all times to do that if it were true?!"

"Because they might be benefiting from it somehow!"

"Hold on, Judai." Manjoume interrupted. "Weren't you just defending them, like, not even a minute ago?"

"Well maybe I'm confused, and a little bit scared, and I want answers just as much as everyone else!" Judai whined.

"Alright, we don't need to be arguing with each other. If this really is a worst case scenario then that's exactly what they want. Confusion leads to arguing, which leads to strained relationships, which leads to the group dividing. We can't let that happen. We need to go save Junko and Momoe first, then we can figure out why they're doing this." Misawa advised.

"Yes, if we hurry there then we can save the girls _and_ confront the Elites. Who knows what may happen to them if we take our time to argue with each other." Mizuchi agreed.

"Don't say that!!" Asuka yelled, causing Mizuchi and Manjoume to back away from her.

The whole club looked at her as she gripped at her arms and shook her head.

"I don't- I don't want to think about that. I _can't_ think about that." Asuka hid her face in her hands. "If- if anything else happened to them… I-"

"Tenjoin-kun…" Manjoume muttered.

He hated seeing her so upset. He wanted to do something, but he just didn't know what. He didn't want to risk accidentally making things worse for her either.

"Don't worry, Asuka." Judai walked up to her and held his hand out. "No matter what's going on here, we'll get Junko and Momoe back safe and sound. I know it."

Asuka looked up at Judai. It continued to astound her how sure of himself he was. He was so determined even though he barely knew anything. He was certain he would go home, and that he would get Asuka and everyone else home too. And now he was certain they would save Junko and Momoe. And Asuka believed in him. Judai's determination was so strong that it spread to everyone in the club. How could she not trust him?

Asuka reached for Judai's hand and he pulled her to her feet. She felt a bit dizzy for a moment, but she quickly regained her senses. She had to push her worries aside so she could focus on saving Junko and Momoe. She couldn't let herself become overwhelmed with fear again. She couldn't stand by and keep her mouth shut and not do anything while she watched everyone else scramble to do what they could. She wouldn't be weak again. She wouldn't fail anyone else.

"Thank you, Judai… Please, let's hurry." Asuka said.

Judai nodded. "We will. Let's go, Go-Home Club!"

"Alright! Let's kick those no good dirty Elites' asses and save Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai!" Rei cheered before running out of the building first.

"To think the Elites are our enemies now…" Kenzan muttered.

"I really don't know if we have a chance against them, b-but we've gotta try at least." Sho said.

"That's the spirit, Sho! Like Rei-chan said, we'll kick their asses for this, no matter how tough they are!" Judai declared before following Rei outside.

Sho and Kenzan chased after Judai and Asuka hesitated before running out after them. Manjoume and Mizuchi stood up, but only he left the building. Mizuchi noticed Misawa was still standing by, a look of concentration on his face.

"Does this seem… strange to you though?" He asked. "We didn't see them at all, and we only went up to the second floor. I'm beginning to wonder if this is a set up. Did they conspire with that girl back at the school perhaps? I can't comprehend why though…"

Mizuchi narrowed her eyes at Misawa for a moment. He was questioning things a bit too much for her comfort, but not in a way that had her worried at least. Still, it would do her some good to have Misawa prioritized. She would have to let her brother know.

"There's no point in standing around contemplating it, is there? We should hurry to the library and find out for ourselves." She said.

Misawa sighed. "I know, I know. I just wish we knew ahead of time so we're not walking in there blind."

He started to walk out of the building to catch up with the rest of the club and Mizuchi followed after him, putting Landmark Tower behind them.

At the school, the door to the front office opened and the three Elites stepped inside. The administrator sitting at the front desk looked over at them and stood up with a smile on his face.

"Ah, good seeing you, sirs. What brings you in today?" He greeted them.

"We need the roster for class 2-5. Make it quick. Oh, and I want all those Go-Home Club posters gone before tomorrow morning." Amon ordered.

"Yes, yes, of course! Right away." The administrator responded and bowed before walking off through a door.

Jim leaned up against the counter while they waited. "So, what do we do if we find out who one of 'em is?"

"Should we go after them? We could stake out the apartments and wait for them to come back. Or catch them in the morning in their class. Considering the posters, they probably do go to class." O'Brien suggested.

"The sooner we catch them the sooner we get Johan back. If we find out anything then we hunt them down tonight." Amon said.

"Guess there's no time for taking a break then." O'Brien commented.

"What, are you tired? Would you like to waste time taking a nap?" Amon remarked.

O'Brien glared at him and Jim could feel a tension form between the two of them. He wanted to step in between them before it became anything more, but the administrator came back with a booklet in hand and placed it on the counter.

"Here you go, sirs. The roster for class 2-5." The man said before sitting back down in front of his computer.

Jim was going to pick it up, but Amon grabbed it first and flipped it open.

"Start at the back, look for Yuki first, just in case." Jim suggested.

"Fine, fine." Amon agreed as he flipped the book over and started at the last page. "Zaizen… Yuzuki… Yumoto… Yuki. Yuki Judai."

The three of them stared at the page in confusion. It was labelled with Judai's name at the top, his age as sixteen, and his gender as male, but otherwise it was empty. There wasn't even a photo of him or any further information listed. Not his date of birth, hometown, registration date, or his apartment number.

"Why is it… blank? It's not supposed to be blank. What the hell?" Amon questioned.

"Was there a glitch? Or maybe Lady Ruby forgot to fill it out. Or-"

"Wait a minute." O'Brien cut off Jim. "Lady Ruby's been asleep for three days. Judai came here yesterday. That's… not possible. Ugh, why didn't we realize if before? Only Lady Ruby has the power to bring people into Mobius. She can't do it while she's asleep."

Amon and Jim stared at him before looking back down at Judai's file.

"That could explain why his file's blank." Jim noted.

"But then… how did Judai get here? How did he get into Mobius…? Why does he have a file on record at all, even if it's blank? Who _is_ he?" Amon wondered.

"It really was him on the poster. We have to find him, and maybe we'll find the rest of that Go-Home Club with him too." O'Brien said.

"But how? He doesn't have an apartment number listed. He may not even go there at all so staking it out isn't a trustworthy option." Amon responded.

"We need to wake up Lady Ruby." Jim decided.

Both Amon and O'Brien looked slightly surprised at the idea.

"But, Jim, you know how difficult that is to do. And waking her up might disrupt the order of Mobius if she hasn't regained enough power." O'Brien warned.

"It's worth trying, isn't it? They want her. They took Johan from us. They'll come after us too if we don't give her to them. Waking her up sounds like the less risky option compared to putting her in the hands of the Go-Home Club." Jim explained.

O'Brien and Amon shared a reluctant look with each other.

"You make a good point." O'Brien said with a sigh. "If… _if_ we can wake her up at all, then she could explain what's going on with Judai. If she didn't bring him here, then she may know something about how he could be here. She can go right back to sleep after that and we can deal with the rest ourselves. That would put Mobius at minimal risk."

Amon looked down at Judai's file again. None of it sat right with him. Problems were getting worse just a week ago, but Judai only came to Mobius yesterday. His mysterious entrance into the world and lack of memories were one thing, but he wasn't the cause of everything. He may have quickly joined the Go-Home Club, but someone else was in charge. There were more of them that had to have been around longer and they were the source of everything going wrong. Judai would be the tip of the iceberg that would expose the truth, Amon was sure of it.

"Fine, we go wake Lady Ruby. But if it can't be done, then we corner Judai in his class in the morning." Amon said.

"Right! Back to the council room it is." Jim exclaimed.

Amon placed the class roster on the countertop, deciding they didn't need to check it further. The trio left the front office and travelled back to the school entrance in silence. There wasn't anyone around except a janitor down the hall who was collecting the club posters. They made their way up the main staircase before it branched off to either side and O'Brien stopped while Amon kept walking. Jim stopped behind him and looked over O'Brien's shoulder.

There was a piece of paper taped to the wall. It wasn't a Go-Home Club poster, but a plain piece of paper with writing in black marker on it. Amon finally stopped halfway up the stairs and looked over his shoulder to see the other two just standing there.

"What now?" Amon questioned in a slightly annoyed tone as he walked back down to join them.

"You've… _got_ to be kidding me." O'Brien muttered.

The paper read "Come to the public library if you want to see him alive. From, the Go-Home Club." Amon yanked it off the wall and stared at it for a moment before surveying the school entrance.

"They were here." O'Brien said.

"Have they been watching us is the question." Amon added.

"J-Johan…" Jim muttered.

O'Brien turned to face Jim, both of them looking a bit worried. "We'll get him back, Jim. We will."

Amon let out a sigh. "They were right here. They had to be watching. One of them is around here somewhere, watching us, knowing when we left so they could place this. The damn rats… toying with us like this. Using Johan…"

"This doesn't sit right with me, but… if Johan is there, we have to go get him. Lady Ruby can wait, she's not going anywhere." O'Brien said.

"Yeah, they're clearly setting us up for something. But if we can get Johan back, that would solve a lot of our problems. Just the three of us together don't have enough of Lady Ruby's power. We need Johan if we're going to handle these guys." Amon agreed.

"Then… we can't be wasting time standing here. We have to get to the library. Johan could be in danger." Jim said.

"Right. Even if it's a trap, Johan is one of us. We can't let anything else happen to him." O'Brien added.

"Change of plans then. We're going to the library and showing those bastards in the Go-Home Club what happens when they mess with the Elites of Mobius. Let's go!" Amon declared.

"Right!" Jim and O'Brien responded.

They turned around and the trio rushed to the front doors of the school. As they left and headed through the courtyard to the street, a figure quickly ducked down behind a bush. It was Edo, who just made it back to the school. He peeked his head out and watched them disappear down the road.

"Damn, that was close." Edo whispered to himself. "I can't have them spotting me. But… where are they going in such a hurry…? And why is it only three of them? Ugh, everything's coming to a head too quickly and I can't keep up with it all."

Edo hesitated for a moment before stepping out from behind the bush. First the new kid with no memories showed up, then Mizuchi was seen with him, then something happened at Landmark Tower, and now the Elites were in a hurry somewhere. Edo needed to figure out what was going on. If it had anything to do with Saiou's plan then he needed to get involved. He couldn't let things get any worse. He had to finally stop hiding and confront the past. And he'd have to start working with the Elites too, even if he relished the very idea of it. He followed the road down the way they were headed, hoping his suspicions were right.

Up on the school rooftop, Kaiser stood by and watched the sun starting to set behind the school. It wasn't long before he heard the sound of footsteps, but he knew who it was so he didn't bother to check.

"I met with Honest. The boss said you completed your end?"

Kaiser turned around to see Darkness, who was standing in the middle of the roof.

"Yeah, they should be headed to the library now. He'll deal with the rest. Let's get this over with." Kaiser said.

He walked past Darkness and stood next to a spot he had previously marked on the roof. Darkness stood there for a moment before joining him on the other side.

"Are we even sure this is gonna work? Mizuchi said there was a barrier on the door, but it seems like such an oversight not to protect the ceiling." Darkness wondered.

"I'm not questioning it, I'm just following orders. You should do the same too." Kaiser said.

Darkness stared at him as Kaiser lifted a hand up, a giant claymore almost as long as his body materializing in his hand. Along with it was a black spike protruding from his chest surrounded by peonies. Darkness then did the same and summoned his own Catharsis Effect.

"Don't you ever… wonder why they're going about things in this way? Violently, from the shadows, I mean. If they want to do good for Mobius, then why do we have to hurt innocent people?" Darkness asked.

Kaiser glanced at him for a moment. "You weren't asking those questions when you joined."

"No one was getting hurt back then. But now… Asuka's with them… I can't go against my sister. You know that." Darkness said.

"Then suck it up and stay out of it if we have to fight them." Kaiser bluntly responded.

He lifted his sword up over his head and bashed it down on the roof. It was like his sword bounced off it and the weight of it threw him back. He hit the ground with a thud.

"K-Kaiser! Are you okay?" Darkness worriedly asked. "See? This isn't going to work. I don't get how they didn't know that."

Kaiser groaned and sat up. "It's going to work. I'll force it if I have to."

He stood up and picked his sword back up. Darkness stood by as Kaiser swung his sword at the roof again and the same thing happened. He got flown back and landed on the ground.

"You're gonna hurt yourself like this." Darkness warned.

"Please, I can barely feel it. It'd be nice if I did though…" Kaiser commented.

Darkness just sighed as Kaiser tried a third time, then a fourth, then a fifth.

"Really, this isn't going anywhere. We should just give up. Find another way in. Maybe we can steal a key or something." Darkness suggested as Kaiser stood back up again.

"Ugh, you try it then! Since you're capable of more than just hitting things." Kaiser demanded.

Darkness glanced at the ground. He was reluctant to try, but he took a couple steps back anyway and pointed his rapier at the marked spot. A red energy pooled from underneath him, making his cloak and hair billow in the wind it generated. A dark red orb of energy shot out from his rapier and collided with the roof. It caused an explosion, making Darkness and Kaiser suddenly have to summon shields around themselves. The smoke cleared out and their shields disappeared, revealing the roof was undamaged.

"Well that was a bit much." Darkness remarked.

"You're the one that did it." Kaiser commented.

"And who told me to?" The brunet responded.

"Drop it. I guess we're really not getting anywhere." Kaiser said as his Catharsis Effect disappeared.

Darkness's Catharsis Effect dematerialized as well and he crossed his arms. "I told you before, but you didn't listen."

"Listening to you is usually a bad idea."

"Ah, usually. Not all the time though. And sometimes my bad ideas have merit."

"So you admit they're all bad ideas."

"Okay, I know I just implied that, but you are bullying your best friend right now and I don't like it very much. Drop the tough guy act for just a second. It's only you and me up here."

"...It's not an act."

"Then put on your socially awkward act."

"That's not an act either!"

Darkness sighed. "Well, I'm not keeping at this. If they're pissed about that then they can be pissed about that. We'll find some other way in. Maybe Honest will have better luck."

He walked over to the edge of the roof and sat down. Kaiser hesitated for a moment before calming down and joining him on the edge. It was going to be completely dark out soon. Kaiser glanced at Darkness, noticing how tightly the brunet's hands were gripping at the edge.

"We'll go back together so you won't be alone." Kaiser muttered.

Darkness glanced at him. "Thanks… Do you think he'll be alright by himself?"

"He prefers being by himself." Kaiser responded.

"So do you."

"What does that have to do with it?"

Darkness shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. It's just strange to me. How both of you prefer solitude and yet I can't stand it."

Kaiser looked off in the other direction. "...You have your reasons. As do we."

"I know. It's just so scary to me. When you're alone… that's when you're most vulnerable. How do others not get scared? I have to jump through hoops to not lose it when I'm alone."

"You must have had a time before when you weren't scared."

"Sure, I did. But that was stupid of me. I should never have let myself be alone."

Kaiser looked back at Darkness, thankful his mask hid all of his face. "You were in your own house where you expected to be safe… You shouldn't think of yourself like that."

Darkness felt surprised for a moment. Kaiser rarely ever said anything like that. As nice as it was, it only bothered him. Kaiser couldn't take his own advice.

"Oh look who's the one preaching." Darkness muttered.

"Our situations are not alike." Kaiser let out a groan. "Remind me never to be nice to you again."

"But then you wouldn't have _anyone_ you're nice to. Not even Honest. Not even your baby brother."

Kaiser tensed up a bit. He didn't want to hear about that.

"Don't talk about him." He ordered.

"He's with them… you know. He referred to you as a 'mutual acquaintance' between me and him."

"...Why should I care?"

"Because he's your brother. Despite everything, you still love him, I know that."

Kaiser gripped a hand on the edge of the roof. It didn't matter if that was true or not, the very thought of it hurt him in a way he could never admit.

"Shut up. You don't know anything about our situation."

"Look, I'm being serious about this. He's with them. He wants to go home. Obviously that's not gonna happen, but what are you gonna do? If we have to engage with them any further… could you do it?"

"Could _you_?"

"...I think I've already proven my answer."

"Her friends are _not_ her."

"And you're dodging the question."

"Then so are you."

Darkness fell back so he was laying down on the roof. They weren't going to admit it. Neither of them were. They were too stubborn in their own ways. What they decided to be a part of was putting them through things no one expected to happen. They were being put on the spot, and at least Darkness was beginning to question all of it.

"We can't do it, can we? My whole intention behind all this is to protect her. Fighting against her defeats the purpose." Darkness muttered.

"Speak for yourself. I already said I don't care about him." Kaiser responded.

Darkness immediately sat back up. "Come _on_! He's your brother! You know you still care, even if just a little. I know you're still hurt by it too. I know you well enough by now."

"I said shut up. It's not your issue to talk about." Kaiser demanded.

Darkness sighed. "Well, can you at least promise me something?"

Kaiser glanced at him. "What?"

"Depending on how this ends, will you go talk to him later? As yourself? I don't care what's said, so long as you both talk." Darkness requested.

"I couldn't do that. We haven't talked in almost the entire time we've been here." Kaiser refused.

"I know that. That's why you should! Maybe you could try to understand each other. Perhaps he's not mad anymore. You won't know unless you talk to him. I just want you to be sure opposing him is something you can live with doing." Darkness tried to persuade him.

Kaiser looked at Darkness as the brunet took his mask off. He wanted to make sure Kaiser saw how serious he was. Kaiser found it difficult to look away from those deep brown eyes. They were always so easy to get lost in. They were quite the weakness of Kaiser's too.

And it wasn't like making up wasn't something Kaiser wanted. He very much wanted that, but he was just so hurt by his brother's words back then that he couldn't bring himself to try. Not to mention back when he did try, his brother only yelled at him more. If only his brother could see his side of things, then maybe they could find a common ground and work things out. The boy was just so naive though. Not that Kaiser blamed him. His brother always struggled with that a lot anyway, but it got to the point that even Kaiser couldn't take it anymore. But after two years and seeing the decisions both of them have made, maybe he could give it one last shot, just in case.

"Fine. I can't say no to you when you look at me like that anyway." Kaiser finally gave in.

Fubuki smiled before putting the mask back on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaiser over here boutta go ask Honest if it's gay to get lost in your bro's beautiful eyes. Seriously, Fubuki, why are they so pretty? I Cannot Handle It. And also hearing Saiou screaming Edo's name all the time will never not be downright hilarious to me. There's a reason I like dueling Edo with him in Duel Links so much. He's just constantly screaming everything and it's wonderful.
> 
> Okay, comedy aside! I have way too many headcanons and theories on everyone's families. For some reason I just think about it a lot. Especially Manjoume and Sho's families. There's too many things I've interpreted in those departments.
> 
> So, I always like to give Manjoume twin daggers cause his canon outfit feels like it invokes a thief class look to me and thieves are usually given daggers for weapons. And here I can give them symoblism of depicting both sides of him. The rich high and mighty kid, and the kid that has to fake being strong to get by. He's got that 'I'm the cool brooding loner' attitude that fits for a thief too, even though that's like, the exact opposite of how he really is, haha.
> 
> Also, Torimaki and Mototani are really minor characters so in case anyone doesn't remember them(they weren't even named in the show anyway, only the games), they were the two Obelisk Blues that hung out with Manjoume for the first few episodes of season 1 and then are seen in the background a lot. I think they stopped being around him when he left to North Academy, or maybe a bit earlier than that. I can't remember exactly. I just sometimes wonder how those two and Manjoume feel about each other after that. They were a few of the first ones that he converted to the Society of Light in season 2, so... maybe he's got animosity towards them? And how long did they know each other? Cause they both were with him in episode 1 before everyone even came to the academy. What's their history??? Konami explain! Oh, or would that be Studio Gallop's job? I dunno. Doesn't matter.
> 
> But uhhhh, I think at this point I'm definitely gonna slow down a little. Instead of working on a schedule of four days, I'm gonna make it a week and see how that goes, so next Thursday it is. I don't need to keep rushing myself anyway, especially when the fatigue has been acting up lately, haha.
> 
> Oh, and one last thing. I demand Rei be allowed canonically allowed to go feral. She already choked out Manjoume in Duel Links, but she deserves to do more chaotic acts of mischief. Like, let her tackle Cobra or something. No, better yet! Let her have a go at Trueman. Just lock him in a room somewhere and let the girl go loose. Give her a chair too even.
> 
> M'kay, I'm gonna go pass out now.


	6. Welcome to the Public Library - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up really important and personal to me and I guess I'm going through it right now, I dunno. So, too many thoughts, head full, ya know? I would like no thoughts, head empty. Only card games and Jim please.
> 
> Oh, and once a week seems to be a good schedule now. So sticking to every Thursday until further notice.
> 
> **Chapter Specific Warnings:**
> 
> -Suicidal thoughts  
> -Attempted Suicide mention  
> -Implied/Referenced CSA

The library - an enormous building not too far away from the school. It was different from a simple public library, even different from the one in the school. It was several stories tall with countless shelves of books, almost giving it the appearance of a warehouse. New residents of Mobius have been known to get lost there from time to time and even long term residents find themselves unsettled by the marble statues scattered about.

A large, extravagant chandelier decorated the ceiling, which was even painted with a mural that one would expect to find in a chapel. Sitting on top of the chandelier with his legs dangling off the edge was Honest. A black, spiked mask covered his face and his dark green hair seemed wilder than before. He stared at the text message he received on his phone.

'We're on our way.'

He simply put his phone away and stood up, holding onto the chain connecting the chandelier to the ceiling so he didn't fall. Below him, Junko and Momoe hung from the chandelier by ropes tied around their bodies. With a snap of Honest's fingers, the bookshelves all throughout the library shifted until they created a maze.

"No one's going home… not on my watch."

Night fell as the Go-Home Club reached the library. They all stopped at the front doors as Judai turned around to face everyone.

"Okay, remember guys, this is the Elites we're dealing with. Absolutely no more splitting up. We all stick together, find Junko and Momoe, and get out." Judai advised.

"But what about goin' home?" Kenzan asked.

"I think it's best we regroup and make sure the girls are okay after all this first. If the Elites are against us now, then I doubt today is the day they're gonna send us home." Judai explained.

"I agree with Aniki. Who knows what may happen if they're really tough too." Sho said, suddenly growing nervous.

"We are kinda willingly waltzing right into an obvious trap. And they've got complete control over Mobius. We're way at a disadvantage here." Manjoume said.

"But we're not gonna abandon Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai! The Go-Home Club leaves no one behind!" Rei cheered.

"Exactly!" Judai agreed. "Now let's go get them back! Misawa, you'll lead us, right?"

"Huh? Oh, I did say I could do that, didn't I?" Misawa let out a sigh. "Alright then, I'll lead. But since I don't have one of these Catharsis Effects, you'll have to keep an eye out for me if things go bad."

"We'll all make sure to protect each other. Especially those who can't defend themselves." Mizuchi said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright, in we go." Judai said as he turned around and pushed the doors open.

Inside was the entrance hall. There was an empty front desk in the room and the decor gave it a feel similar to a waiting room. There were three paths, two that branched off to the sides, and one with grand double doors next to the front desk.

"I can't imagine they would want us to meet them anywhere else besides the main area." Misawa said.

"So let's charge right in! Enough stalling!" Rei exclaimed.

"And get shot on sight probably? Hell nah. We go with weapons out in case we need to retaliate." Manjoume responded.

"That's a good idea, actually. We should be on high alert for anything." Judai said as he summoned his Catharsis Effect.

The rest of the club that could, except Rei, followed suit.

"I take it mine is still too big?" Rei questioned with a frown.

"Sorry, Rei-chan. Just be ready to use it if need be." Asuka told her.

Rei groaned in response.

Sho glanced around at everyone else. They could all help in some way thanks to their Catharsis Effects. Even Misawa, who didn't have one, was still the best choice for leading them around the library. And what could Sho do? He couldn't think of anything. He was just as useless as Junko and Momoe, if not more. He could be targeted as the weakest link next. He didn't want to think of himself as a hindrance, but what was he except that? He simply took a step closer to Judai. At least that way Sho felt safe.

"Okay, definitely no more stalling now. We go through the front, right, Misawa?" Judai asked.

"Yes, it seems like the best bet. A straightforward approach and whatnot." Misawa answered.

Without another word, Misawa made way for the double doors. Judai stayed beside Misawa, with Sho right behind him, and Asuka made her way to the front of the group. Kenzan and Rei followed after them with Manjoume and Mizuchi in the back. Mizuchi made sure she had a mirror partially in front of her to keep an eye on the group's back, although she was certain she had nothing to worry about. At least not for herself.

As Misawa opened the doors and everyone walked into the main area of the library, something caught them off guard. Things didn't look the same. Instead of a wide open room with plenty of tables and room for seating, there was only a row of bookshelves that made up a somewhat thin hallway in front of them. The shelves were known for their large sizes, but they weren't supposed to extend so close to the ceiling. No one could even see the upper floors at all.

"Okaaay… I know I don't remember what a library's supposed to look like, but even I think this is a little off." Judai commented as they all continued down the hall.

"That's because it is. The library looks nothing like this." Misawa said, sounding a tad worried.

"Did they change it up just for us, saurus?" Kenzan wondered.

"They're not planning on making this easy, are they?" Manjoume added.

The doors to the entrance slammed shut behind them, creating a loud echo and making Sho and Rei yelp. Sho clinged to Judai as everyone looked behind them.

"Guess there's, uh, no turnin' back, don…" Kenzan muttered.

"We wouldn't have been leaving without Junko and Momoe anyway." Asuka said as she turned back around to keep walking, or skating, in her case.

Judai glanced down at Sho. "Asuka's right. No turning back until they're both safe with us. This doesn't change anything. We'll be okay."

Despite the uncomfortable air that crept over the club, they all kept going. There was only a short bit of the hallway left until they reached the end. The hall opened up into a large square space surrounded by bookshelves. It didn't seem to lead anywhere. It was simply a dead end. The club stood in the middle and everyone looked around.

"Helloooo!?" Judai called out.

"A-Aniki!" Sho exclaimed.

"What? We wanna confront them, right? They need to show themselves." The brunet responded.

"Perhaps we should look around. There could be a hidden switch somewhere that we're meant to find." Misawa suggested.

"Oooh, like a puzzle. Fine, we'll play their game." Rei said as she immediately ran off to yank books off one of the shelves.

"Just don't press anything before telling everyone. That's the last thing we need." Manjoume warned.

"Right. Everyone fan out and look for clues. If you find something, say something." Judai said.

The club separated within the space and searched through the shelves individually. Misawa and Asuka made sure to open the books they picked up just in case something was hidden inside. Sho stacked the books he pulled out and stood on them to reach the higher shelves. An idea came to Kenzan and he punched the bookshelf with his gauntlet, but nothing happened aside from a few books falling out. Everyone stared at him and he looked over his shoulder.

"Well… now we know we can't just force our way through, saurus." He said.

"That's about what I expected. That would make this too easy." Asuka commented.

As they all continued their search, the front doors of the library burst open and the three Elites ran inside. The trio stopped at the front desk and looked around.

"Seems like the place is empty." O'Brien noted.

"Not even NPCs…" Amon observed.

"That doesn't matter, we have to save Johan." Jim said as he ran to the double doors, but only slammed into them and groaned.

"J-Jim! Relax, this isn't like you. I know you're worried about Johan, but you'll only get yourself hurt if you rush in head first." O'Brien advised.

"But…" Jim straightened out his hat as he looked at the doors. "I think it's locked."

Amon walked up to the door and pushed on the handle. It didn't budge in the slightest. After a moment he tried again, but still nothing.

"This isn't good…" The redhead muttered before turning around. "It's not locked. Someone's power is keeping it sealed."

Jim and O'Brien went wide eyed.

"That's… not possible. Only we can do something like that." O'Brien said.

"Do you think… it's Johan's doing?" Jim wondered.

"It doesn't feel like Lady Ruby's power though. There's something… different about it." Amon argued.

"But how? Who else could have the power to control things in Mobius? If the source doesn't feel like it comes from Lady Ruby, then it can't be Johan. But who else could there be?" O'Brien questioned.

"Is the Go-Home Club even stronger than we thought?" Amon shook his head. "We have no way of knowing for now. We need to focus on trying to get in."

"Maybe all three of us could try together? Our powers combined might be strong enough." Jim suggested.

"It's worth a shot." O'Brien said.

He walked up to join the other two at the door and the trio each put a hand on the handle before pushing it together. Unfortunately, the door still didn't budge.

"Ugh, how much power do they have?" O'Brien groaned.

"There's gotta be some way in. They wouldn't call us here just to lock us out… I hope." Jim said.

"Back up." Amon ordered.

The other two looked at him as he held a hand out. Jim and O'Brien suddenly took a few steps back as a long, pitch black lance materialized in Amon's hand. A spike appeared from Amon's chest, surrounded by snapdragon flowers. He used the tip of the lance to stab in between the doors and try to pry it open. It still refused to budge. Amon gave up and pulled his lance out.

"Not even a Catharsis Effect will work…" O'Brien muttered.

"Well, we're not giving up!" Jim declared. "What if this just isn't the way they wanted us to go?"

"After all that work you want us to just, take another door?" Amon questioned.

"Even if it means taking the long way and doing what they want, as long as it gets us in." O'Brien said.

Amon sighed as his Catharsis Effect disappeared. "Alright, well, which way? We're sticking together this time so we can't pick both."

Jim looked from the right hall to the left hall. They had no way of knowing if one path was a trap or not. And they couldn't stand around mulling over their options. The longer they took the more likely something could happen to Johan.

"We should go left." Jim blurted out.

"Why left?" O'Brien asked.

"Just the first one that popped in my head." Jim said with a smile.

O'Brien and Amon shared a look with each other.

"Well, I have no objections." Amon stated.

"Then I guess left it is." O'Brien added.

Jim led the way as they took the left hall, leading them to the west wing of the library. Unbeknownst to the Elites, a barrier formed at the entrance of the hall, trapping them inside.

Barely a moment later, the front doors of the library opened again, and Edo stepped inside. He looked around to make sure the room was empty before he walked into the center.

"Did they go inside?" He asked himself.

He stepped up to the double doors and grabbed the handle, pulling on it. When the door didn't move, he pushed it instead.

"Stuck…" Edo crossed his arms and put a hand on his chin. "No, it's sealed. Just like the Student Council room. Did they seal it?"

Edo groaned, wondering if the Elites knew he was following them. He turned around and walked back to the center of the room. There had to be some way in. He needed to know what was going on. Hiding wasn't an option anymore.

As he looked around again, he remembered the hallways in the library. It had been a long time since he had been there, so the east and west wings had slipped his mind. He hesitated for a moment before picking the left hall, but something caught his eye. It looked as though there was a film of some kind over the entrance. Edo stepped closer and placed a hand up, pressing it up against an invisible surface. A subtle ripple emitted from where his hand touched, revealing a barrier.

"They've got this place on lockdown. What the hell is going on inside?" Edo wondered aloud.

He crossed the room to stand in front of the right hall. Just by looking, there didn't seem to be a barrier blocking the way. To make sure, Edo held a hand out. He didn't make contact with anything, so he assumed the path was clear.

It was strange though. Why had only two of the three paths been blocked off? And had the Elites been the ones to do it? Or was it someone else? Edo's only guess was Saiou, or possibly those who worked with him. From the looks of things, he and the Elites were finally starting to butt heads. Edo had to wonder if he was inside. Was Mizuchi there too? And if she was there, then was the Go-Home Club with her?

Edo couldn't afford to stand around and think. If it was time for him to confront Saiou again after so long then he would just have to deal with that. Even if he didn't have the means to. Since the Elites were there as well, he'd just have to hope he ran into them first. Making his way down the dark hallway, Edo didn't realize the lights in the library shut off completely.

Both groups were caught off guard by the pitch blackness that surrounded them. Even with the power out, it didn't make sense for everything to be so dark that it was impossible to see at all.

"A-Aniki!!"

"Hey, who turned off the lights, don?!"

"I said not to press anything, damn it!"

"It wasn't meee!!"

"This… is not good."

A rustling sound could be heard from the bookshelves. Someone felt something big rush by them and it became apparent that the bookshelves were moving. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way even though they couldn't see a thing. Someone tripped and another person bumped into them, both of them falling to the ground. There was a high pitched scream as someone felt like they were grabbed around the waist.

And suddenly the shelves stopped and the lights popped back on, both groups completely isolated from themselves.

Judai found himself facing a corner that he knew he wasn't looking at before. He shook his head and quickly turned around, startled at the sight of another person with him. They turned around as well, revealing Mizuchi.

"Mizuchi!" He exclaimed as he ran up to her. "Glad to know we're not trapped alone."

"Right, that certainly had me shaken up. I guess it's just the two of us." She said, a slightly worried expression on her face.

"I hope everyone else is okay…" Getting an idea, Judai cupped his hands over his mouth and looked up. "Heeey!! Everyone okaaaay?!"

Mizuchi tensed up at the sudden loudness of his voice. After a moment, there was no response and Judai yelled again. Still nothing.

"Maybe they can't hear us? This is the Elites after all. If this was their doing then perhaps they can block us from hearing each other." Mizuchi suggested.

"Ya think?" Judai groaned. "There's gotta be some way to get back to everyone. I wonder… how high up my wings can take me."

Mizuchi glanced up at the ceiling. "Well, if your flight only lasts for so long without you knowing then I don't want you falling to the ground from high up. I doubt I can break your fall without getting one of us hurt."

Judai frowned. "Didn't consider that…"

Mizuchi pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at it. "Perhaps you could try texting or calling someone? My phone's still getting reception, but I don't have any of the others as contacts."

Judai stared at the phone in her hand for a moment before realization dawned on him. "I… don't have a phone."

Mizuchi flashed him a curious expression. "No? But I have one and yet we're both in the same predicament."

"Now that I think about it… Asuka and the girls have phones too, right? How can you have a phone in Mobius?"

"Well, I found mine on my person when I came here. There was nothing on it initially so I can only assume you're given a phone when you come here. When I exchanged numbers with my friend he told me it only works in Mobius."

"Okaaay, so that means no calling the outside world. But how come I didn't get one? Unless… I did and didn't notice? Well, no… how could I miss that unless it fell off me? Or maybe it's still in my pocket back in my room? But how could I change clothes and not notice that? Am I stupid or something?"

"Maybe a little."

Judai just stared at Mizuchi with a disappointed expression before sighing.

"Either way, I can't contact any of the others and you don't have their numbers. I guess exchanging numbers woulda been a good idea. Damn it… Well, what about your friend?" Judai asked.

"My friend?" Mizuchi repeated.

"Yeah. Could he, like, come break us out maybe? I guess that's a lot to ask of him when he doesn't know about any of this though." Judai clarified.

Mizuchi had to question the irony of such a possibility.

"But what could he do? Even Kenzan's punch couldn't do anything to a simple bookshelf. If we're completely trapped then I can't imagine there's anything he could do. I wouldn't want to put him in harm's way either." She refused.

Judai groaned. "Nah, ya got a point. We shouldn't involve bystanders. But, we're still stuck in here."

_"Catharsis Effect achieved, kuri!"_

Judai suddenly froze and his eyes widened at the sound of Kuriboh's voice echoing in his head. Someone gained their Catharsis Effect. How? The only ones were Sho and Misawa. Which one was it? Were they okay? Did something happen to them? Judai felt himself become tense. He couldn't help but worry for them. At the very least there was no risk of them becoming a Digihead if they managed to channel their emotions into a Catharsis Effect. But that still meant they went through something just now.

"Judai?" Mizuchi called out, noticing that the brunet seemed off.

Judai looked at her, unsure how to put it into words.

"Uh… Kuriboh just said… someone activated their Catharsis Effect for the first time." He finally responded.

Mizuchi looked a bit taken aback herself. Did Honest have something to do with it? He must have already taken action then. But she wasn't sure if things were going according to plan or not.

Only a moment later, one of the bookshelves shifted. Judai flinched and Mizuchi watched as it moved to the side, revealing a long pathway behind it. She only grew more concerned. Honest definitely was up to something, but it wasn't what was planned on. Already things weren't going their way. She would need to figure out how to improvise once the opportunity arose.

"I _immediately_ do not trust that." Judai said.

"Perhaps… they want us to come meet them." Mizuchi suggested.

"Okay, or they're gonna trap us further in the library and we'll get lost forever and they'll pick us off and no one'll ever find us again!"

Mizuchi looked at Judai, who had a panicked expression on his face.

"Would you rather stay here?" She asked.

Judai sighed and rummaged a hand through his hair. "No, we should stick together. At least… we're not defenseless."

"Of course. I'm sure together we make a fine duo." Mizuchi said with a smile as one of her mirrors rematerialized beside her.

Judai nodded and his sword reappeared in his hand. He leaned it against his shoulder so it wouldn't feel too heavy in his hand.

"I just hope the others'll be fine by themselves. Someone's already encountered a problem as far as we know. I'm hoping it was just Sho freaking out for a minute. If it was Misawa then I've got no idea what coulda happened." Judai said.

"Since they achieved Catharsis then that means whatever happened has been settled, right? So they now have the means to defend themselves, like us. In that case, next time we see them, they'll be stronger. We all are the Go-Home Club after all. We can handle this." Mizuchi reassured him.

A small smile formed on Judai's face as he trusted Mizuchi's words. A part of her wished she could trust them herself though. Knowing what was lying in wait for them all, she started to regret her mission. Was her brother really the one in the right? Still, as Judai walked on ahead into the dimly lit hall, Mizuchi followed beside him.

When the lights had come back on, Misawa found himself all alone. He was surrounded on all sides by bookshelves with not a soul around. There was a deafening silence in the air, as if everything behind the walls around him had completely disappeared. One moment he was searching through shelves with the others, and amid the chaos of the next, he was alone. He had to question if the others had ever really been there at all. Of course, that was a ridiculous question, and he knew that. But it was a thought that came to mind anyway.

Reasonably, he would be able to handle that kind of situation. All he had to do was yell for the others, search the books again, or try to climb up the shelves. And yet, he found himself incapable of doing any of that. He just stood there.

Alone.

Misawa thought he had his problems settled. He thought he could handle going back to the real world. He was so sure he was ready. But now he was faced with the very thing he feared. He was alone. He had no powers. He could get left behind. Everyone could escape and save Junko and Momoe and confront the Elites and go home without him.

They were the Go-Home Club. They all knew each other already. Even Mizuchi had something in common with Judai. And sure, Misawa knew Manjoume a bit, but Manjoume certainly didn't like him. 

What if they all… forgot about him?

The sound of shoes hitting the ground make Misawa turn around. He was startled, but remained silent as his eyes fell on Honest. Misawa was certain he wasn't one of the Elites, let alone one of them in disguise. That meant there was more going on than the club realized. His suspicions at Landmark Tower were correct. They had been set up.

"Misawa Daichi, is it?" Honest finally spoke.

Misawa's eyes widened a bit.

"H-How do you know my name? Who are you?" He nervously responded.

"You may refer to me as Honest. I hope that makes it clear I'm an… _honest_ guy."

"That _honestly_ makes you seem less trustworthy."

"Clever. Now enough joking around."

"I could say the same to you. Where are Junko and Momoe? Are the Elites here? Did you plant that note?"

Honest seemed taken aback for a moment. "You certainly cut to the chase. But I have no desire to explain anything to you. I've come to make a proposition."

"And what proposition would that be?" Misawa asked.

"First, a question of my own. Do you like it here in Mobius?"

Misawa hesitated for a moment. Honest had no weapon drawn. He spoke calmly and somewhat sincerely. It seemed like Misawa could trust that Honest was only interested in having a conversation for the time being. Misawa supposed he could speak freely as well without cause for concern, unless his response wasn't what Honest was looking for that is.

"I would… say so. This place is quite helpful. It gives everyone a second chance. I can rethink things here, as can others."

"But you're with this Go-Home Club. That would mean you want to leave, yes?"

"Well, of course. My problems are…" Misawa paused, unsure if he believed what he wanted to say. "…solved. Mobius is only temporary. I'm ready to go back. To face what hurt me back home."

"But you claim to like Mobius. You admit it's helpful. People have a second chance here. It gave you that, and me. Why leave to the world that hurt you and so many others when you could stay here, where it's safe?"

"I suppose that is a good question. But, Mobius isn't real. Here, I'm still sixteen. I should be nineteen now. I don't want to stay in high school forever. I have- had- no… No, I _do_ have goals and aspirations I want to reach. I was the smartest in all my classes. I had opportunities already lined up for me. I could go places in life. I just had one problem stopping me. And now I know the solution to that problem. I want to keep living, no matter what else may happen. That's why I have to go home."

Honest stared at Misawa for what felt like forever. It started to concern Misawa. Had he said the wrong thing? It was the truth, so it was only up to how Honest took it. What did he want from asking Misawa such questions anyway?

"You'll go right back into that situation, you know." Honest finally said. "You'll have made all this supposed 'progress' only to go right back to the moment you wished for it all to be over. Then what will you do? You may think you've changed and 'improved', but could you handle being thrown right back into everything that drove you here in the first place? How do you know it won't be too much?"

It was Misawa's turn to fall silent. It was true. He couldn't make people acknowledge him. He couldn't stop anyone from abandoning him. He couldn't force people to keep being his friends. No matter how hard he tried he could barely even get his parents to notice him. He was already successful, but no one saw that. What was the point of getting good grades and winning awards if no one celebrated with him? What was the point of anything if he would just keep being forgotten?

Honest raised a hand and held it out to Misawa.

"Why not stay here, in Mobius, where it's safe? Help keep others safe. That's all we want. We, the Society of Light, will keep everyone in Mobius to protect them."

Misawa stared at Honest's outstretched hand. Time still passed on the outside. Had he been reported missing? Did his parents want him back? Did his school mourn him? Did his extended family console his mother? Did his father come back to town just to help look for him? Were people still pushing his case after three years? Or was he declared dead?

He thought for a moment that he could feel the wind blowing from on the roof of his apartment building. The way the sky looked as the sun started to rise. The town skyline and all the buildings he recognized from that high up. The certainty that no one would miss him.

Misawa hesitantly lifted a hand up and began to reach for Honest's hand. Even if he was forgotten in Mobius too, at least he could help others. Mobius _was_ safe. It was _meant_ to help. That was all he wanted. He wanted to do good. He had given up on trying to be remembered. Even if the world - both worlds - forgot him, it wouldn't erase what he did to help.

_"If we end up having to go there at some point then we'll rely on you, Misawa."_

Static flickered around Misawa's head and his hand froze.

_"Misawa, you'll lead us, right?"_

The static flickered again and Misawa's eyes widened.

Judai… Judai believed in Misawa. Judai didn't forget him. Judai offered to rely on him. Judai let him lead the way. Misawa had _someone_ who remembered him. Even if they just met that day, Judai still made the effort to not forget Misawa. Judai would get him home. Judai would get them all home. Even if going home meant not seeing Judai again, he would still remember Misawa. That was one person. One person who hadn't forgotten Misawa. No matter who else did, at least Judai didn't.

Misawa pulled his hand away as the static grew thicker and Honest tensed up.

"Are you refusing?" The masked man questioned.

"I… I told you. I want to keep living, no matter what else may happen. That's why I-… That's why I have to go home!"

Misawa felt a stabbing pain in his chest and could barely move as he looked down at himself. He thought for a moment that Honest had attacked him, until he saw the spike jutting out from his chest. Myosotis flowers surrounded it and a few petals scattered to the ground. A weight in his hand made him lift it up, revealing what looked like a pitch black metallic baseball bat.

Honest pulled his own hand away and took a few steps back.

"A- A Catharsis Effect…? But how could- All on your own? How is that possible?" Honest frantically questioned.

Misawa looked back to Honest. "Probably because I have someone that believes in me, which I _honestly_ doubt you have."

Honest groaned underneath his mask. "That's… stupid. That's so… _stupid_!! No one believes in anyone! Everyone's alone! Even you! Even me! Mobius is the only safe haven! You'll just die if you go back!!"

A pitch black bow materialized in Honest's hands, as well as a spike from his chest that was surrounded by statice flowers.

"You can't really believe that, can you? I doubt you're the only one behind whatever's happening here. You must have allies. One's that consider you a friend." Misawa tried to tell him.

Honest's hands began to shake as he saw the backs of Darkness and Kaiser in front of him. He quickly shook his head as he let out a whine and they disappeared.

"Shut up!! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You don't know anything about me! Just- stay here, damn it!!" Honest yelled.

He lifted his bow up and pulled the string back. An arrow formed out of a black mist and he shot it at Misawa, who just barely managed to dodge it in time.

"O-okay… I guess now is a good time for me to learn how to fight." Misawa said to himself.

As Honest got ready to fire another arrow, Misawa held onto his bat with both hands and rushed at the masked man. Honest had to release his bow's string, firing an arrow at the ground, as he quickly backed away from Misawa's swing. As the arrow struck the floor, it exploded into a puff of black smoke. Neither of them could see anything and Misawa took a few steps back as he coughed from the smoke. He swatted it away with his hand before finally being able to see again. As it cleared away enough, he realized Honest was gone.

"He ran away…? That thankfully avoids a fight, but… where did he go?" Misawa asked himself.

The sound of something scraping on the library floor practically startled Misawa and he turned around to see a bookshelf moving to the side. A pathway revealed itself to him and he stared down it for a moment.

"That's… ominous." He muttered.

There was nothing else he could do though. If he wanted to regroup with the club then he would have to go find them. He didn't want to risk Honest returning with a grudge to confront him again either. He glanced down at the bat in his hand as it suddenly disappeared. He had the power to do something now. He wasn't going to let it go to waste. Misawa ran into the dark hallway, ready for whatever it threw at him.

When the lights had turned back on, Sho found himself face first on the library floor. There was a weight on his back that kept him pinned down. He groaned as he lifted his head up and realized everything looked a bit blurry. His glasses must have fallen off during the chaos. The weight on his back lifted a bit and he glanced over his shoulder. It was another student with black hair. Whoever it was, it wasn't Judai then.

"Will you get off me?!" He complained.

"Geez, shut it for once! Damn."

Judging by the grating voice and foul language, it was definitely Manjoume. He got to his feet and brushed his clothes off. Sho slowly stood up next and rubbed his head.

"I dropped my glasses so watch where you step." Sho warned.

Manjoume immediately looked on the floor and searched around before spotting a pair of round glasses a couple feet away. He walked over and picked them up.

"Here they are." He said, holding them out to Sho.

The shorter teen just stared at his blurry figure for a moment before taking them and using the edge of his sweater to clean the lenses.

"Uh, thanks." Sho responded as he put them back on his face.

He found it odd that Manjoume so easily picked them up for him and just handed them over. Maybe it was him being pessimistic, but he honestly expected to have to fight to get them back. Or at the very least for Manjoume to make a snide remark of some kind.

"What… happened?" Sho wondered as he started to look around.

"I think we all got separated. Seems like the shelves switched around on us when the lights went out." Manjoume assumed.

"S-separated…?" Sho felt himself grow nervous. "So it's just you and me?"

Manjoume sighed. "Got a problem with that?"

"Not really, but if it's just us… A-Aniki…" Sho muttered, unable to finish his thought.

Manjoume just groaned and crossed his arms. They had only gone a few minutes without Judai around and already Sho was freaking out about it. He watched as the shorter teen ran off a few feet to stand in front of one of the bookshelves.

"Anikiii!! Anikiiiii!!" Sho shouted at the top of his lungs and made Manjoume tense up from the volume.

"Oh shut up! Judai's not gonna come to your rescue every single time. He's probably just as stuck as we are. Stop relying on him so much." Manjoume complained.

Sho turned around, looking a bit surprised.

"R-rely-... I don't rely on him. What gave you that impression?" He denied.

Manjoume scoffed. "Oh please, it's only been a day and a half since he came here and you're already obsessed with him. Walking with him everywhere, clinging onto him like that, calling him 'Aniki'. It's obvious."

Sho tensed up. "W-well so what if I'm 'obsessed' with him? Why do you care? It's not hurting anything."

Manjoume shrugged his shoulders. "No, it's not. I'm just pointin' it out is all. And now isn't the time to act on that obsession when we should be figuring out how to get the hell outta here. We can't stand around and wait for Judai to solve all our problems."

Sho pouted and turned back around, pressing the tips of his fingers together. He hated it, but Manjoume was a bit right. He was already relying on Judai a lot when the brunet had only come to Mobius just yesterday.

"Oh what, are ya gonna be whiny about it now?" Manjoume remarked.

Sho turned around again and glared at Manjoume. "I _wasn't_ actually, but then you had to go and assume that anyway. Just leave me alone, Manjoume! How I feel about Aniki is none of your business!"

"How you… feel?" Manjoume curiously repeated.

Sho immediately flinched and shoved his hands over his mouth.

"You have… _feelings_ for him?" Manjoume suddenly got a wide grin on his face. "Yooouuu _like_ him?! Hah! That's rich! You're both so annoying that it's somehow fitting!"

Sho's face burned up and he shook his head. It wasn't true. Manjoume was misinterpreting his words. He didn't mean it like that. Did he? He really did only meet Judai yesterday, and yet… Judai was the first person that ever asked for his help. And Sho was the first person Judai knew in Mobius. As far as losing his memories went, Sho was the first person Judai knew at all.

And it was because of Judai that Sho met everyone else. He wasn't sure to what extent the rest of the club considered each other friends, but in a way they all did look like a friend group. Sho had so many people he had a connection to now. He wasn't just the shy short kid in class 2-5 that got snippy with Manjoume sometimes and drove people away by getting aggressive whenever he started to come out of his shell. He was a friend of Judai's. He might even be friends with Kenzan and Asuka. Maybe he could be friends with Manjoume too.

Sho had all these people he could talk to now, all because Judai ended up in the seat behind him in class. No, it wasn't because of that. It was because Sho had a single moment of bravery and decided to talk to Judai that morning. If he hadn't said a word to Judai, then the brunet might have dragged someone else out of the classroom. He may have even just ran out by himself. In that case, Sho would still be alone. He would still go back to his apartment all by himself and walk to school in the morning by himself. He would still never consider talking to a certain someone ever again.

Judai had changed so much about Sho in just a day and a half. And that made Judai someone special to Sho. He wanted to be closer to Judai. Judai was his lifeline to a normal social life. He had a chance at a normal _childhood_ thanks to Judai. At least, that was the way Sho saw it.

But what about his feelings…? What were they really? Sho found himself relying on Judai, grabbing his hand, and hugging him a lot. It was comforting, but it was also something Sho used to do before coming to Mobius. So was Judai… a replacement? There was a void in Sho that someone else left, so was he using Judai to fill it?

No. No, that couldn't have been it. Sho didn't need someone to fill that void. There was no void. Like hell he would admit that. He didn't need to rely on anyone. He was independent. He could do things for himself no problem.

Right?

So then, why did he seem to depend on Judai? The very idea of being close to Judai made Sho feel a bit fuzzy. It was hard for him to put proper words to the feeling. It wasn't something he had ever felt before.

Manjoume said he liked Judai, and of course he did. He liked Judai a whole lot. Judai's smile was warm like the sun and Sho's hand in his felt so soft. He recognized he was a tad jealous when Mizuchi seemed like she was getting close to Judai on purpose. He didn't want to let go of Judai after the brunet helped him get down at Landmark Tower either.

So, his feelings… Were they really _that_ kind of like? Did he… have a crush on Judai? The very thought made his face burn up all over again. He wasn't sure if he had a crush before. He found a lot of girls pretty to the point that he could barely talk around them, but none of it was ever like how he was with Judai. Of course, he never got close enough with any of them to hold their hands or anything like that. It was different with Judai. So if those were crushes… then with Judai it had to be- No, Sho couldn't even think about it. It wasn't true, it couldn't be. Could it…?

"Sh-shut up!!" Sho shouted as he shook his head and grabbed a book off the nearest shelf, throwing it at Manjoume.

"Gah! H-hey, watch it!" Manjoume exclaimed as he dodged the book.

"Will you shut it for once?! Always saying and doing- gah, _stuff_! It's annoying and no one likes you 'cause of it!" Sho yelled as he threw another book.

Manjoume scrambled to swat it away and scowled at Sho.

"You're the one that needs to knock it off! At least I don't start throwing shit when I get pissed off! Can't you just take a joke for once?!" Manjoume shouted back.

"It's not a joke!!" Sho fell silent for a moment as he bit his lip. "It's not a joke when it's what everyone else does…"

Manjoume's expression softened as he watched Sho turn away from him. What was that supposed to mean? He was only doing what he knew how to do. It really was what everyone else did, so he didn't understand the problem. It didn't make sense to him that Sho couldn't take a joke or light teasing. He wasn't trying to bully Sho.

Oh…

It finally clicked in Manjoume's head. He was always around people that spoke like that. Even his brothers did it. Not only to each other, but to their so-called friends too. It was just what everyone did. They teased their friends. They even said things to him and told him not to take it so hard since they were just teasing him. It was a brotherly thing. At least, that was what he believed.

But to Sho, it wasn't friendly teasing. It was straight up bullying. Manjoume was bullying him, and over things that Sho was sensitive about too. Manjoume still wasn't any better than those he had always been around. He still had a lot more to work on.

He rubbed the back of his head and tried to figure out what to say. He wasn't good at speaking about emotions and being sincere. In fact, it was embarrassing. But, he had to get something out now that he realized what he had been doing was wrong.

"Hey, um… I didn't- I wasn't trying to-... to be mean…." Manjoume muttered.

"Oh, really?" Sho sarcastically questioned as he turned to look at Manjoume. "It never once occurred to you that mocking me and making fun of my height and how I- about… Aniki… You really didn't-"

"No!" Manjoume interrupted. "I didn't, okay? I seriously had no idea. I… didn't know any better, alright? It's how I grew up, geez."

Manjoume looked away, seemingly annoyed. Sho wasn't sure who he was annoyed with though. Sho just sighed, realizing it was the same for both of them.

"It's… how I grew up too." Sho mumbled and looked down at the ground as he pressed his fingertips together.

Manjoume's eyes widened a bit as he looked back at Sho.

"Everyone's always been making fun of me for as long as I can remember. Even my parents. I just… never realized it. I sorta, couldn't really tell that kinda thing back then. But I know better now, so when it happens it really… pisses me off. I couldn't do anything about it then, but I can now." Sho explained.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Manjoume apologized.

Sho's eyes widened in response and he adjusted his glasses. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Manjoume was apologizing. And to Sho of all people. He didn't really know what to do. He only ever had one other person genuinely apologize to him for something. He wasn't sure how to respond.

"Uh, a-as long as… y-you don't… do it anymore, then… we can put it behind us. We have other things to worry about right now." Sho said.

"I'm… still working on that, but… I'll do my best. I really am… sorry, Sho." Manjoume responded.

Sho just nodded, glad things had finally been worked out. Something else dawned on him though.

"Oh! But, uh… d-don't tell Aniki how I… how I feel." Sho muttered, his face feeling hot again.

Manjoume chuckled. "Hey, like I even care 'bout that in the first place. That's between you and him."

Sho pouted. He didn't even want to think about it. Could he ever tell Judai? Did it even matter? When they went back home, would they ever see each other again? It felt like there was a timer looming over him, counting down to when his time with Judai was over. What would happen when it ran out?

A rumble behind Manjoume made them both flinch. They looked over to see a bookshelf start to move out of the way and reveal a hallway.

"Huh? W-why did…" Manjoume trailed off.

"Did someone do something…?" Sho nervously wondered.

Manjoume took a small step forward. "We can't- we can't stand around and wait for Judai or one of the others to come get us. We gotta do what we can on our end."

Sho hesitated before nodding. "Y-yeah. There's nothing I can really do, but… I won't slow you down."

Manjoume glanced back at Sho. "And I won't leave you behind. Now let's get the hell outta here."

A small smile formed on Sho's face as they both started walking down the dimly lit hallway together.

When the lights had turned back on, Rei refused to let go of the person she grabbed hold of, thinking it was Judai.

"Let go!! Let go, let go, let gooo!!"

The voice she heard sounded nothing like Judai and she pulled her arms away, the other person running off a few feet to get away from her. Once she got a better grasp on her surroundings, Rei realized it was Asuka that she had grabbed.

Asuka tried to calm her breathing and had both her hands over her chest. She could feel her heart practically beating out of her chest.

"Oh, sorry, Asuka-senpai. I thought you were Judai-sama." Rei apologized.

Asuka took a moment before sighing and looking at Rei. "I-It's fine, Rei-chan. Just, don't grab people like that again. You really need to keep your hands to yourself."

Rei put her hands behind her back. "Sorry… Ah, are you okay? Ya seem really freaked out."

Asuka shook her head. "I'm okay, really. Don't worry about me."

Rei stared at the older girl. She didn't look okay. It was barely noticeable, but Asuka's hands were shaking. Rei didn't know anything she could do, so she just opted to look around.

"Are we alone?" She wondered.

Asuka glanced around and looked up at the ceiling. She had an odd feeling, like they weren't alone. Like something was watching them from somewhere they couldn't see. But then again, Asuka always had that feeling when she was alone.

"Heeeey!!" Rei yelled, startling Asuka. "Judai-samaaa!! Kenzaaan!! Anyoooone?!"

"Rei-chan, please!" Asuka exclaimed.

"But we all gotta regroup! How else're we gonna find Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai?" Rei responded.

"I don't know!" Asuka shouted. "I don't know, okay?!"

Rei stared at the floor, surprised that Asuka raised her voice like that. She seemed to be acting a bit distant ever since they encountered her brother back at the school. It made sense that she would be on edge, especially since her two friends were kidnapped. But Rei didn't particularly like getting yelled at, regardless of the reason.

"You don't have to get snippy with me, ya know?"

Asuka looked a bit taken aback as she stared at Rei. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with Rei's childish antics. The girl never seemed to take anything seriously. Always trying to get Judai's attention or being loud and destructive. It was starting to agitate Asuka. Now was not the time for Rei to act like everything was a game.

"I wouldn't get snippy with you if you didn't act like a child in such serious situations."

"Child?! You know we're both children, right?"

"At least I'm mature. I understand the weight of the problems we get in and don't treat them like games."

"Oh, so I'm _not_ mature? I'll have you know I'm _really_ mature! Guys tell me that all the time! At least they know I act like a grown woman and don't treat me like a child like everyone else!"

"Are you _kidding_ me?! Rei-chan, that's a predator!"

Rei felt caught off guard, maybe even a bit frozen. That wasn't the first time she was told that, but maybe it actually did mean something if even Asuka was saying it.

"No wonder Kenzan-kun mentioned pervs at Papiko." Asuka continued. "That's your problem. You vie for the attention of guys that look at you for more than two seconds. Is that why you don't like me? Because unfortunately they all look at me when I have to repeat to everyone over and over again that I don't like attention? I get it when I don't want it and you don't get it when you want it so clearly I'm the problem? And poor Judai has to be your current target. How have you not noticed that he doesn't want that kind of attention from you? I've seen you cling to other guys before too. No one likes that except the predators that are just gonna use you. Rei-chan, that's how you get hurt. No guy deserves your attention more than you deserve to take care of yourself. If you keep up this kind of behavior something bad is going to happen. You can't keep being so nonchalant about everything as if you're immune to-"

" _I know already!!_ " Rei screamed.

Asuka went wide eyed as she realized Rei had tears streaming down her face. Did Asuka's words cut that deep? She did lose control of herself for a moment. She was just so tense and Rei was only making it worse. As much as she stood by what she said, she really didn't mean to let all that spill out so harshly.

"I know, okay?!" Rei wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "I know! I learned that the hard way, alright?! Are you happy?! I know what happens when I act like this, and I don't wanna be like this anymore! I-I really like Judai-sama, I do! He actually cares. A-and so does Kenzan. I really appreciate both of them for trying to help me. But, I don't know how to stop acting like this. I've always been energetic and my parents even say I'm rambunctious and I'm sure they mean that in a good way, that's just how I am… But I'm so tired of being treated like a kid. I want respect! I hate being treated like I'm dumb because of my age or that I should just worry about playing when I do care about important stuff! And older guys are always treated with respect. If they treat me like an adult then- then… I'm doing something right… _right_?!"

Rei cried as she dropped to her knees and covered her eyes with her hands. Asuka just stood there, a bit too in shock to know how to respond. She couldn't just leave Rei there though. The girl was really crying her heart out. It pained Asuka to hear it. It even reminded her of herself. She used to sound just like that when she broke down.

Asuka couldn't handle it anymore. She walked closer to Rei and got down on her knees, putting her arms around the younger girl and pulling Rei close. Rei grabbed onto the back of her jacket and hid her face in Asuka's shoulder. Asuka just stroked her hair.

They were both just kids. Kids that had been through far too much. All of them were. Rei, Asuka, Judai, Fubuki, the rest of the club, the Elites, and everyone else in Mobius. They were just kids that shouldn't have had to suffer.

Rei eventually quieted down and Asuka only heard the occasional sniffle come from her.

"I wanna go home." Rei mumbled out.

"I know, Rei-chan, I know. We will, I promise." Asuka responded.

Rei pulled away a bit and rubbed her eyes. Asuka could see they were pretty red and Rei's face looked flushed. She pulled a handkerchief out of her skirt pocket and rubbed it against Rei's cheeks to wipe away the tears.

"Hey, you wanna know the story behind this handkerchief?" Asuka asked.

"Hm?"

"There was this annoying kid in grade school that I used to have class with. He was always playing games with everyone and making them bet things important to them. Well, one day he made me play a card game with him for my handkerchief and I beat him, so he kept making me play, but I kept winning. So, when I wasn't in class, he stole it from my desk. I knew it was him and told him to give it back, but he said he didn't do it. So I told the teacher, but they couldn't prove he did it. Then I went to my brother and Nii-san actually threatened him, which I can't remember him ever doing other than that one time. But this kid just would not admit it was my handkerchief. So I got so fed up that I just punched him in the face."

Rei gasped. "You punched a kid?!"

"Yes! He stole my handkerchief and said it wasn't mine and no one else would do anything about it. What else was I supposed to do? Anyway, I took it back from him and he cried and told his mom, who called the school, and then my mom had to be called and I got grounded for a week 'cause of that. But, he got what he deserved so I didn't mind. Besides, me and Nii-san kept joking about it for years after the fact. He still calls it the 'punchkerchief' too."

Rei couldn't help but laugh at that. "Punchkerchief! That's so stupid!"

Asuka groaned. "I know, right? I still don't get why everyone finds him funny when he says stuff like that."

Rei laughed again and this time Asuka managed to chuckle a bit too. She was glad Rei wasn't upset anymore. She didn't know how to solve the problem so she just resorted to distracting Rei, but it seemed to work well enough. Telling that story even managed to distract Asuka. She was still worried of course, but at least her nerves had calmed down. She felt like she could focus much better too. She had friends to save, so she couldn't let herself waiver, no matter what.

"Why don't we try to get outta here now. I'm sure the boys are gonna need our help." Asuka suggested as she stuffed her handkerchief back in her pocket.

Rei nodded. "Yeah. Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai are waiting for us too."

"Of course they are. And we're gonna get them back." Asuka added.

As Asuka stood up, she helped Rei to her feet. Not a moment later did they hear a grating sound against the floor. Asuka turned around and they both watched as a bookshelf moved itself aside to open up a path.

"Are they letting us out?" Rei wondered.

"I… have no idea." Asuka responded.

"Well this is our chance! We can go look for Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai, or find Judai-sama or someone else! We shouldn't stand here and wait for them to come to us." Rei exclaimed.

Asuka looked back at the younger girl and sighed. "I guess we should. Just stay close. We still haven't seen the Elites so who knows where they could be."

"Right! And if we run into them then we'll take 'em out ourselves!"

"No, Rei-chan. There's two of us and four of them. We run or try to settle things peacefully."

Rei pouted, but realized she wasn't taking things as seriously as she should have. She supposed that was a problem she finally had to start working on. They were absolutely stuck in a very serious situation and Rei needed to treat it as such. It wasn't a game. They may have been in Mobius where things hurt less, but that didn't mean they couldn't suffer severe injuries. Who knew the full extent of what the Elites were capable of too. Rei had to be careful and stop acting so carefree. She needed to be mature, in the right way.

"Okay, okay." Rei finally responded. "We'll take it one step at a time."

Asuka nodded and the two girls made their way down the hallway together.

When the lights had turned back on, Kenzan stood in the center of a small room by himself. He quickly turned around and looked all around him, but there was nobody else with him.

"Hey, Anikiii!! Rei-chaaan!! Marufuji-senpai?!" He shouted.

With no response, Kenzan resorted to punching one of the shelves with his gauntlets again. They barely budged an inch, but a few books dropped to the ground around him.

"Asuka-senpai! Manjoume-senpai!"

He punched it again, but it still didn't fall, or break, or anything.

"Raaagh!! Misawa-senpaaaii!! Mizuchi-senpai!!"

With one last punch, Kenzan gave up. Nothing was happening. No one was responding to him. Could they even hear him? Or had something happened to them? Everything went by so quickly that he wasn't even sure how far they got separated. It felt like it all happened in just a few seconds.

Kenzan's Catharsis Effect disappeared and he yanked the remaining books off the shelves in front of him. He propped a foot up on a shelf and climbed up so he could grab a hold of the one above him. He would climb his way up and over if he had to. Whatever it took to reunite with everyone.

He only made it a few levels up before his hand slipped and he would have fallen if his other hand hadn't grabbed the shelf in time. He let out a sigh of relief, but that didn't stop his heart from beating out of control.

"I _really_ don't need to be breakin' anymore bones, don…" He grumbled to himself.

Kenzan kept climbing up a few more levels. Against his better judgement, he glanced down to see how high up he was. He immediately regretted it as soon as he felt dizzy. He wasn't too high up, but it was high enough that it made it his brain spin. He really wasn't afraid of heights, it was just the fear of breaking something again that overcame him. It was Mobius so he doubted any damage would be too bad, but he couldn't help the reaction he had anyway. He couldn't bring himself to climb up any higher. He had to go find someone, but he felt stuck. He couldn't do it.

He cursed himself as he made the decision to go back down. Almost immediately his foot slipped off the edge of the shelf below him and he panicked. As he tried to lift his foot back up, he accidentally picked his other foot up and the sudden weight of his whole body hanging made his hands slip as well. He reached out for the edge of the shelf, but his fingers weren't close enough.

Kenzan fell to the floor below.

He landed flat on his back and groaned as he struggled to sit up before rubbing the back of his head.

"Ahhh… shit, shit, shit… Well that hurt, saurus…" He muttered under his breath.

He looked down at his legs and wiggled his toes in his shoes. He could still feel everything, so he must have been okay. Kenzan was thankful he was in Mobius. He really didn't want to know what that landing would have felt like in the real world.

He shook his head and fixed his bandanna before getting to his feet. He wasn't about to risk hurting himself any worse than that, so climbing was off the list of options. But then what was left? He tried busting his way out and yelling for the others, but even that didn't work. Was there really supposed to be a clue in the books then? He didn't want to sift through every page of every book, but if there was no other choice…

Kenzan punched the shelf out of frustration, but then pulled his hand back and rubbed his knuckles, remembering he wasn't using his gauntlets. He just wanted to do things the quick and easy way, even if it was more reckless. But being reckless was how he ultimately ended up in Mobius. He needed to stop and think things through, but what more was there to think about?

He just wanted out.

He wanted to be outside. He was stuck inside and it was driving him insane. He just wanted to go outside like everyone else could.

Kenzan punched the shelf again, not caring that he wasn't using his Catharsis Effect.

"Lemme out."

He punched it again.

"Lemme out, don."

And again.

"I want _out_!"

And again.

"Just lemme out, damn it!!"

And again.

Kenzan sighed and rested his head down on the shelf, putting his hands over his head.

"I wanna go outside…" He mumbled.

A scraping sound made Kenzan suddenly lift his head up. He quickly turned around and saw the bookshelf behind him start to move aside, revealing a hidden hallway. He wasn't sure what to think. He couldn't have pressed something, so did it move on its own? Or was someone controlling it? If it was the Elites then it might have been a trap. But if he didn't leave then he wouldn't be able to find the others, or rescue Junko and Momoe. He had to take the risk. Whatever it took to go outside again, he didn't care.

"I'm comin' everyone. We're gonna go home, don."

Kenzan charged down the hallway and deeper into the depths of the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... if I can be serious for just a minute, that Misawa and Honest conversation ended up so important to me. As both a writer and pretty downer person in general, I tend to write positive messages that I... don't really believe, I guess. I just know it makes for a good message from a fictional story and it's the kinda positivity people wanna believe in. But, when I wrote "I want to keep living, no matter what else may happen." I had to stop for a while and just think about that.
> 
> I don't think the stuff I write is used as vent art, I just don't do that, but sometimes I accidentally end up in situations where I'm like "...oh my god... they're right." because I disconnect myself from my writing. I'm not writing from me, I'm writing this thing that exists separate from me, if that makes any sense. So that happens sometimes. It's what the character believes, but that doesn't mean I believe it. And then I end up writing something profound that really strikes me.
> 
> I once saw it explained that stuff like not actively wanting to die but being okay with the idea of, like, getting hit by a truck or disappearing into nothingness was still a form of suicidal ideation. And I'm always back and forth between, "I'm gonna make it even if I'm 40 when it happens" and "what's the point if all I do every day is just sit here and wish I did something".
> 
> The point I'm trying to make is, no matter what may happen, I want to keep living. Even if all I'm doing is writing a fanfic for a card game anime from the mid 2000s in the middle of... all this, that's kinda the point. I'm creating. I'm making something from nothing even if it has no merit in the real world. I'm not making money and I'm too afraid to, but I'm making people happy. And I decided a while back that that's what I want to do with my life. I'm gonna keep living to make people happy.
> 
> I don't even know why I'm crying. I don't know why this is getting to me like it is. Fucking Misawa said the line. I don't even like Misawa. I'm sorry but it's true. Although this chapter did make me start to appreciate him. But I'm fucking sitting here crying over my own writing. That's never happened before. I'm sorry for bringing the mood down even though this quite literally is a fic where everyone is there specifically because they're suicidal. I just, really caught myself off guard. This wasn't even supposed to be about me.
> 
> I just want everyone else to feel the same way. I struggle with emotions, but I do care. It's just hard to express it and I don't really... feel the feeling of caring even though I know I do care. I want everyone to want to keep living, no matter what else may happen. There's so many small things to love. Even if it feels like they mean nothing. There's no goal to living. There's no finish line and a trophy that says you won at the game of life. You just. Enjoy it. No matter what else may happen.
> 
> It's all probably hollow coming from someone who spends all day everyday in bed and has the privilege of not needing to work or pay for anything, but I love everyone. I really do. So I hope that's worth something at least. I'm done now. It's whatever. I dunno.
> 
> Oh, also. For anyone that doesn't know, the myosotis is the genus name of forget-me-nots. I went with that instead because a more scientific name works better with Misawa's character, I didn't wanna go with scorpion grass, and forget-me-not just felt a little too... on the nose.
> 
> And on a much more light hearted note, he has a baseball bat because of that one gym class scene where he's holding a bat and either says or thinks something like 'I know how to counter your balls.' in relation to Judai and out of context it's the funniest fucking thing. I think there's two scenes where he's shown holding a bat actually, so it just feels fitting, ya know.


	7. Welcome to the Public Library - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's past midnight for me and I'm bored while just sitting here listening to 80's Jpop, so I might as well upload the chapter right now since I'm so fucking impatient.
> 
> Okay so, considering the content of this chapter, if you're a reader that hasn't needed, and I actually mean _needed_ , to check the chapter warnings before hand, then I highly recommend skipping them for this one. I know that probably sounds backwards, but just trust me here. But seriously, if you do need to be aware of the warnings then for the love of God, do not skip them just because I recommend doing so. Avoiding spoilers is not worth risking your mental health.
> 
> Anyway! Hope you guys like Jim as much as I do, 'cause there's never a moment in my life where I am not deeply and intrinsically obsessed with him to a bizarrely unhealthy level :) (It's called a coping mechanism, leave me alone!)
> 
> Now that I think about it, I probably sound like I'm devolving further into madness with each chapter, but I'm really not. I'm just socially awkward and don't know how to shut up.
> 
> **Chapter Specific Warnings:**
> 
> Suicidal thoughts  
> -Potential character death

Honest reappeared on the library chandelier in a puff of black smoke and grabbed the chain to hold himself steady. His breath was shaky and he kept a hand over his mask, but didn't remove it.

"I don't have anyone. I-I don't. Not even them. I don't need them. T-That's it. I don't need them. I never needed them. I could… do this… on my… own." He muttered to himself.

He yanked on the chandelier's chain out of frustration, causing it, and Junko and Momoe, to swing a bit. Honest would prove that Misawa was wrong. The real world was cruel. It would kill them all. Only Mobius was safe. Everyone was safe in Mobius. So they all had to stay. No one would get hurt if they just stayed put.

He was safe in Mobius. He didn't need Darkness, or Kaiser, or Mizuchi, or even Saiou's help. Honest only needed himself. He could only trust himself. Everyone else would leave him. It was only a matter of time. It would happen again, he was sure of it.

Everyone… would leave each other, no matter what.

Jim walked to the end of the hall in the west wing and entered an empty room. There still wasn't any sign of life. He only found bookshelves, tables, and couches. Nothing appeared to be touched either. Everything was perfectly in its place.

He considered it a good thing that it seemed like no one else was in the library. He would have hated for innocent students to be in harm's way. But it did mean he was all alone. No sign of the Go-Home Club, Johan, O'Brien, or Amon. If only he and the other two were able to stick together when the light shut off. They certainly tried to, but in the chaos they couldn't tell where each other were.

The Go-Home Club managed to separate them, so Jim had to take things seriously. He couldn't afford to joke around like usual. He was alone anyway, so it wasn't like he needed to brighten up the mood or calm anyone down. He could handle his own nerves.

But that didn't change the fact that the Go-Home Club was still in control of the situation. Jim was safe for the time being, but who knew what kind of trouble O'Brien or Amon could potentially be in. Not to mention the fact that Johan was still their captive. The Elites could be completely helpless already and not even know it.

Jim walked through the room and to the door, opening it up to keep going. At least none of the other doors were sealed. He made his way down the hallway before him. It was strange to him. The library wasn't always the brightest place in Mobius, but it certainly wasn't ever as dark as it currently was. The Go-Home Club was keeping visibility down. Jim had to keep an extra close eye on dark areas around him. But that would be tough with his limited field of vision. He still had his better sense of hearing though, so he had that advantage over them at least.

At the end of the hallway was another door. Stepping through, Jim came to a large archive room. He should have been familiar with the library's layout, but he felt so turned around from getting separated from the others. He wasn't usually the one that led the way anyway. With three doors on the other sides of the room, Jim wasn't sure which way to go. With no way to know where exactly they led, Jim didn't need to worry about how to pick the 'right' one. If he chose wrong then he just chose wrong.

It was a shame the Goddess's power couldn't help him detect the others unless they were close, and he couldn't pick up on any other power sources in his vicinity. He should have been able to have complete control over the library with O'Brien and Amon, but without Johan their total power was too weak. It wouldn't have been a problem if the other unknown power wasn't present however.

Jim's mind still lingered on that. What other power source was there in Mobius beside the Goddess? And how did the Go-Home Club have a power like that? Who were they, really? And there was still the question of Yuki Judai's mysterious appearance. If he was with the Go-Hone Club now, then could both situations be related?

There was no point in Jim mulling over such questions. Asking the Goddess would have to wait and he would run into the Go-Home Club soon enough. Sooner than he expected even.

He could hear the faint sound of footsteps. They were fast and getting closer. It seemed to be more focused on the right side. Jim quickly moved so he was standing between the middle and the right doors. As it got closer he could tell it was coming from the middle. It was one set that was somewhat heavy, so it was a single person, but they might be tough.

It didn't make sense though. If it was one of the Go-Home Club then charging down the hall seemed like such an idiotic way to attack him. Did they not know he was there then? Or what if it was someone else who was trapped? All he knew was that he couldn't sense the Goddess's power, so it wasn't O'Brien, Amon, or even Johan. But he had to take the upper hand against whoever it was while he had the chance. Jim backed himself into the corner, close to the middle door, and summoned his Catharsis Effect. Bouvardia petals dropped to the floor from the spike in his chest.

The middle door burst open and Kenzan ran into the room, his eyes focused on the center of the room as he came to a stop in front of the door. Just as he turned around to check the other side of the room, he caught a glimpse of someone before something wrapped around his ankle and pulled his foot out from underneath him.

"Gaah, damn it!" Kenzan shouted as he fell to the ground on his back.

"Where's Johan?"

"Huh?"

Kenzan looked up to finally see Jim, one of Mobius's Elites. There was a pitch black handle in the taller teen's hand. It connected to a rope, and Kenzan's eyes followed it to realize the end was what was wrapped around his ankle. At the sight of the spike in Jim's chest, Kenzan realized it was a Catharsis Effect.

"Where. Is. Johan." Jim repeated.

"W-what're ya talkin' about, saurus? I should be askin' you where Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai are!" Kenzan responded.

Ignoring Kenzan's ignorance, Jim pulled his lasso back and started to drag Kenzan closer to him. Kenzan frantically flipped himself over and tried to crawl away, the two boys practically playing tug-of-war with each other. They seemed to be about equal in strength despite Kenzan's slightly larger frame.

"Just tell me where Johan is! What did you do with him?!" Jim exclaimed.

"I dunno, don! Lemme go! You guys're the ones that took the girls!" Kenzan shouted.

"We didn't take anyone! Don't accuse us of being as cruel as you bastards!" Jim denied.

"Oh bullcrap! Ya left a note, saurus!"

"What note?! You're the ones that left a note!"

Jim continued to pull Kenzan back, who kept trying to pull himself forward. It looked to be a losing battle. He was getting dragged closer and closer to Jim and he was in no position to properly use his Catharsis Effect.

They both were so focused on each other, that Jim didn't pick up on a new set of footsteps that fast approached from the right hall behind him. The door flew open and as Jim reflexively looked over, a bat swung at his head, knocking him to the ground. His Catharsis Effect disappeared and freed Kenzan from his grip.

Kenzan went wide eyed at the sight of Misawa brandishing a pitch black bat. Once he noticed the spike, he realized Misawa must have gained a Catharsis Effect. Kenzan quickly stumbled to his feet as Misawa raised his bat over his head. Before Misawa could bring it down, Kenzan grabbed his wrist, making Misawa freeze.

"He's down, Misawa-senpai! Chill out, saurus!" Kenzan exclaimed.

Misawa flinched and his Catharsis Effect disappeared from his hand. He immediately recomposed himself and took a step back.

"S-sorry! I panicked. That was… unbecoming of me." Misawa apologized.

He was shocked at himself for daring to strike someone who couldn't defend themself. He must have been more on edge than he realized. He just heard shouting from the end of the hall and reacted so quickly that he didn't even realize what he was doing. He saw Kenzan in danger and only thought about how to save his fellow club member.

Jim finally groaned and slowly lifted his head up. He felt like his head was spinning. He sat up a bit and picked his hat up off the floor before putting it back on. He looked up at Kenzan and Misawa, who both stared down at him.

"Are you… okay? I hope I didn't hit you too hard." Misawa asked.

Jim was surprised that Misawa even bothered to check if he was alright. They were the Go-Home Club. If they were willing to kidnap Johan then Jim was an easy target in his current condition. Jim just looked away.

"You took Johan." He quietly said.

Misawa and Kenzan looked at each other.

"That's what he was sayin' before, saurus. We didn't take anyone. At least, not far as I know." Kenzan said.

Misawa looked back to Jim, getting a better grasp on their situation. He crouched down so he was level with Jim, and the taller teen finally looked at him again.

"Jim, we're not enemies. There's someone else here named Honest. He called his group the Society of Light. They must have set us up to turn on each other. Blaming us for taking Johan and blaming you guys for taking Junko and Momoe." Misawa explained.

Jim and Kenzan both looked shocked.

"Wait, ya ran into someone else, don?!" Kenzan questioned.

"Well, it was more like he approached me. He even knew my name. He… tried to convince me to join them." Misawa clarified.

Jim's gaze dropped to the floor. He knew it had to be true. It went further than just his habit of trusting people. He could tell it was the truth. Everything made sense. Kenzan seemed so certain that they had nothing to do with Johan's kidnapping and was even accusing Jim and the others of kidnapping whoever Junko and Momoe were. Neither side was aware of the note they supposedly left. Misawa was even trying to talk things out with him. It just made too much sense.

"You… didn't take Johan." Jim muttered.

"No, we didn't. And you didn't take Junko and Momoe. The Society of Light took them. They are our enemy. We need to work together to figure out what is going on here." Misawa said.

Jim nodded before standing up, the pain in his head having faded away finally. Misawa stood back up as well.

"We'll have to regroup with everyone else and let 'em know. Knowing O'Brien and Amon, they'll be harder to convince, especially if no one else knows. But first, lemme see your Catharsis Effect." Jim said.

"Hm? Mine?" Misawa asked.

"Yes, yours. That's what ya hit me with, right?" Jim responded.

Misawa tensed up, still feeling bad about that. But he resummoned his bat, along with his spike and flowers.

"What about mine?" Kenzan asked.

"You have one too?" Jim questioned.

Kenzan nodded. "So does everyone else 'cept one of us at this point, saurus."

There was a hint of surprise in Jim's eye as Kenzan summoned his Catharsis Effect. He wasn't sure how many of them there were, but the idea that almost all of them had one of their own baffled him. He thought it was near impossible to do without the Goddess's help. All three sides had Catharsis Effect users. Jim suddenly felt a little less special and a lot more confused.

Still, Jim leaned in close to Misawa's flowers, making the shorter teen a tad uncomfortable. He seemed to be studying them, but even Misawa wasn't sure what he was trying to gather from simple flowers. Misawa didn't even understand why flowers were a part of everyone's Catharsis Effect.

"Myosotis, also known as scorpion grass and forget-me-not. They're pretty much mostly in Eurasia and New Zealand with some others in the Americas and a few other places." Jim explained.

Misawa looked down at the flowers, not expecting that to be what Jim said about it. He didn't exactly need to be told that, since he already recognized what they were. Jim must have had a reason though.

The Elite then turned to Kenzan, making him tense up. Jim leaned in close to the flowers on his chest and stared at them. Kenzan glanced at Misawa, who just flashed him a confused expression and shrugged.

"Hyacinthus, more commonly called hyacinth, native to the Mediterranean."

Kenzan made one of his gauntlets disappear and reached his hand up, almost touching the flowers.

"They're poisonous."

Kenzan flinched and quickly pulled his hand away, causing Jim to laugh and place a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, Dino Boy! They only cause skin irritation. And it doesn't apply to catharsis flowers anyway."

Kenzan calmed down, but he still felt nervous about the flowers being attached to him with that information.

"Wait… Dino Boy?" Kenzan suddenly repeated in confusion, recognizing the phrase as English words.

"Hm? Oh, yeah! 'Cause ya make dino noises, and I dunno your name." Jim cheerfully explained.

"Uh, it's Tyranno Kenzan." He said.

"Even better! It suits ya perfectly, Dino Boy!" Jim complimented him with a thumbs up.

An awkward smile crept its way onto Kenzan's face. While he couldn't agree more, it was still strange for him to hear someone sound just as enthusiastic about it as he felt. It was a nice feeling though, just unexpected.

Misawa frowned as the duo just stared at each other. It was like they completely forgot about him. He cleared his throat and they both turned to face him, finally remembered he was there.

"Oh, sorry, Misawa-senpai." Kenzan apologized and rubbed the back of his head.

"So, why exactly did you need to look at our flowers, Jim?" Misawa inquired.

"Oh, right. Well, 'cause of how much I know about nature. Makin' a point to remember what everyone's flower is can be real helpful. The petals fall off real easy too. Knowin' who has what flower means I can tell who's been where if there's petals around." Jim answered. "Oh, and that reminds me. Anyone in your group have buttercups or anemones as their flower?"

Kenzan and Misawa both thought for a moment, trying to remember what everyone's flowers looked like. Misawa hadn't gotten a clear enough look at the one's he had seen and Kenzan didn't know any flower names aside from the most common ones.

"I don't believe I know if we do." Misawa said.

"I don't either, but I kinda remember what Aniki and Rei-chan's flowers look like, don." Kenzan said.

Jim crossed his arms. "M'kay, worth a shot at least. The buttercups are little yellow flowers with rounded petals that reflect light."

Kenzan took a while before shaking his head. "Rei-chan's got a yellow flower, but that doesn't sound like it."

"Hm… well the anemones are small white, red, and purple flo-"

"Oh, I know for sure that's Aniki, don!" Kenzan interrupted Jim.

Jim only looked a bit confused. "And who's Aniki? Your brother?"

Kenzan and Misawa both felt a bit silly once they remembered that Jim wasn't Japanese. Now that they thought about it, it occurred to them that none of the Elites were Japanese actually.

"Aniki is what he and Sho call Judai for… some reason." Misawa explained.

Jim tensed up. So Judai really was with them. His very existence just raised too many questions. He was in Mobius with no memories when it should have been impossible, he was in the Go-Home Club, and his flower petals were at the site of yesterday's Digihead sighting as well as where Johan was taken from. Judai had a lot of explaining to do.

"Judai! Where is he?" Jim questioned.

Kenzan and Misawa shared a curious look with each other. Jim then sighed once he realized what he was asking.

"No, ya probably don't know, huh?"

"No, sorry. I take it Kenzan and I are the only ones in the club who have found each other. We all got broken apart when the lights shut off." Misawa responded and Kenzan nodded in agreement.

Jim groaned. "The same happened to us… Right, back to step one. We need to find everyone else first. Then find Johan and those girls. Hopefully we can figure out who this Honest guy is too. There's way too much goin' on here."

"You can say that again, don." Kenzan agreed.

"Well, we should get a move on then. We can't risk someone getting hurt from a misunderstanding." Misawa advised.

"Better hope we run into Amon first then." Jim said.

The other two grew worried. Why did they need to hope they found Amon first? What would he do if he encountered one of the club members? Neither of them really knew what Amon was like. He seemed to be the most mysterious of the Elites. Not even Jim was aware of what Amon was fully capable of.

They needed to hurry to ensure no one else fought each other. The only door someone hadn't come through was the left one, so it seemed like the only viable option. It had to lead somewhere. Jim took the lead for the trio, making sure to be cautious as they headed through the door. They had the Society of Light to worry about now on top of everything else.

Amon himself wasn't too far away. He quietly walked through the halls of the library as if he knew exactly where to go. He didn't though, but he chose not to fret over picking directions. It would do him no good to stand around like a lost little boy waiting for someone else to show him the way. He just had to keep moving forward.

He thought for a moment that he sensed one of the other two, but there was no way for him to head in that direction. At least he was sure one of them was still around. Of course, it wasn't like reuniting with them was his top priority. He felt much more capable being by himself without having to be stuck working with the others. It was like he had to babysit a bunch of little kids that all thought they were full grown adults.

But maybe he was the same way. Thinking he could do everything on his own that is. It wasn't like he cared anyway. But then why did he even bother to become an Elite if he didn't care? No, more like why was he chosen? Shouldn't the Goddess have known he wasn't a good choice? He wasn't kind like Johan, or cheerful like Jim, or responsible like O'Brien. There must have been someone better suited for the job than him.

But the power was enough to convince him. That's what it was. She promised them her power, giving them the strength to control Mobius. What a stupid decision that was. How could she have been so naive as to pick the four of them? Johan was too much of a wide-eyed idealist, Jim was far too trusting and nonchalant, O'Brien wasn't good at expressing his feelings, and Amon? Amon hated everyone and everything.

So what was he doing trying to protect a world that helped people like him? Of course it sounded illogical. Protecting such a place only made sense, but that wasn't how he felt about it. He hated it. The only reason he did it was because Mobius was the place where he was in control. Amon had power in Mobius. Everything relied on him. He didn't have that back home. Like hell he would ever go back when he could stay in Mobius where he was in charge. He didn't have to risk causing anymore harm if he stayed in Mobius either. But he still hated it there, if only by virtue of it being a place that Amon occupied.

"But why nooot?!"

Amon froze and quickly backed up against one of the bookshelves. He could hear voices approaching from around the corner. Now that he thought about it, he had to wonder if there were normal students trapped in the library with them. It seemed unlikely, but by the sound of it, whoever was getting closer wasn't on the hunt for him.

"I told you I want as little attention as possible."

"But just a bit of mascara would really bring out your eyes!"

"I don't want to bring out my eyes. I don't want to bring anything out. I don't even wanna be looked at."

"I'm looking at you!"

"Yes, and that deep stare on your face is very unsettling, Rei-chan…"

It was clearly two girls. Of course that had to be what he got stuck dealing with. Just because that was the case though, it didn't mean he could let his guard down. Even if they were just normal students, he had to make sure they weren't Go-Home Club members in disguise. Amon summoned his Catharsis Effect and just as their footsteps were right beside him around the corner, he held his lance out.

Asuka gasped and froze as the end of Amon's lance came inches from her throat. Rei yelped and hid behind Asuka as Amon stepped out from around the corner, keeping his lance trained on Asuka. They both practically glared daggers at each other.

"Amon Garam…" Asuka spoke, poison nearly dripping off her words.

"Tell me your names." He demanded.

"Oh, you don't know who we are even after what you did?" Asuka responded.

Amon raised a brow at her. "So you're members of the Go-Home Club then, aren't you?"

"Is that what you think?" Asuka questioned.

Rei stared up at her in confusion. She was dancing around his questions, but Rei couldn't tell why. Wouldn't it have been more effective to just answer him? He could probably tell them where Junko and Momoe were then.

"Stop playing games with me. Just tell me what you did with Johan." He ordered.

"With Johan?" Asuka repeated. "Accusing us for things now? You- you kidnapped Junko and Momoe."

Amon remained silent as the two stared at each other. His expression was blank while Asuka looked like she would murder him given the chance. With both of them not willing to take an action, Rei quickly reached over to the nearest shelf and pulled a book out, chucking it over Asuka's shoulder. Amon flinched as it struck him in the face and he bent over, his glasses slipping off of him.

Asuka would scold Rei for such a risky action later, for now she summoned her Catharsis Effect and kneed Amon in the chest, sending him falling back. He dropped his lance and struggled to sit up. As he lifted his head up, Asuka picked up his lance and pointed it down at him. Rei gathered more books in her arms just in case.

Despite the slight blur to his vision, Amon didn't seem too concerned. In fact, he even smirked at Asuka, confusing her. He outstretched his hand and his lance disappeared from Asuka's grasp, reappearing in his own. As her eyes widened, he swung it at her, forcing her to jump back. While he got back on his feet, Rei threw another book at him, which struck him in the arm. He mostly ignored it though since he barely felt that one.

"Stay down, asshole!" She shouted.

"Rei-chan, just stay back!" Asuka ordered, glancing back at her.

"No way! I'm helping any way I can this time!" Rei refused.

Taking the opportunity, Amon thrusted his lance forward. Asuka just barely managed to jump up in time and onto the blade of the lance. She jumped again and brought the blade of her skates down to strike Amon. He brought his lance back towards him quick enough to block Asuka's kick and pushed his lance against her heel, forcing her to propel herself back.

Amon took the chance to snatch his glasses off the floor and almost put them back on before Rei hit him in the head with another book. He groaned as he finally got his glasses back on and rubbed his sore head. He pointed his lance at Rei, who tensed up and glared at him.

In order to stop him from targeting Rei, Asuka rushed at him again, lifting a leg up to kick him. Amon didn't even bother to move. Before her foot got close enough, a yellow barrier formed around Amon. Once Asuka's foot made contact with it, she bounced off and was flung back, sliding on the library floor.

"Asuka-senpai!" Rei called out, but got no response.

"You don't deserve a Catharsis Effect if you can't even learn how to use it properly." Amon stated as the barrier around him faded away.

"Fine then, I'll show ya how an expert uses one!" Rei exclaimed and dropped the books she was holding.

"Rei-chan, no!" Asuka struggled to shout as she propped herself up a bit.

Rei lifted her left hand up and a white glove materialized down her hand and over her arm, only covering her ring finger. At the same time as her spike extended from her chest with her flowers, a black handle formed in her hand. From it shot out a long silver chain that floated behind Rei. At the end of it, a small pitch black ball formed. Its shape changed as if something was trying to come out of it. It quickly grew in size and solidified as a giant spiked ball that took up the entire hallway. It shook the building as it fell to the floor, leaving an indent in the tile underneath it.

"How… is it so big?" Amon questioned in shock.

Rei grabbed the handle with both her hands and yanked it forward, but it got stuck.

"H-huh? Hey, c'mon!" Rei looked behind her as she pulled it again, realizing her flail was jammed between either side of the hall. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me!"

"What were you saying about an expert?" Amon remarked.

"Cram it, jerk!" Rei yelled as she continued to yank the handle. "The s-second… I get… this thing… loooose…"

With one last big tug, the ball of her flail seemed to pop into a puff of smoke.

"I'm gonna kick your ass!!"

Rei swung the handle forward and from the smoke, flew out a much smaller version of the ball at the end of the chain. Amon was in too much shock to react in time and the ball struck him, knocking him off to the side several feet away. Asuka finally got to her feet and made her way to Rei, who was just staring at the handle she was holding onto.

"Holy crap… I am an expert!" Rei let out a loud laugh. "Let's you do somethin' as awesome as that now, loser!"

"Don't taunt him, Rei-chan." Asuka scolded, causing Rei to pout at her.

With the two girls focused on each other, Amon got to his feet and held his lance out.

"Fine… if it's a performance you want, then I can deliver just that." Amon said.

They both turned to face him as he placed the rear end of his lance on the floor with a light tap. A sudden wind blew from out of nowhere, making Rei shiver. Asuka moved herself so she was slightly guarding the younger girl.

"Perfect Storm."

The wind kicked up and the whole hall started to feel chilly. It looked like a fog began to form over them, making it hard to see anything. Amon had his sights perfectly trained on the two girls though. He lifted his lance up and held it back, a huge gust of wind moving in time with it and pushing Asuka and Rei forward. Rei grabbed onto Asuka, who tried to keep herself steady.

At the end of the hall behind Amon, a hand grabbed the doorknob. Jim froze, making Kenzan and Misawa stop behind him and look at each other. Jim could sense the Goddess's power on the other side of the door. And it wasn't just that. It was being used to amplify a Catharsis Effect, one Jim was familiar with. He quickly pulled the door open and a burst of cold air entered the room, making the trio have to shield themselves.

"S-shit, man… W-why's it f-f-freezin'?" Kenzan struggled to ask.

"That should… d-d-definitely not be p-possible." Misawa stated.

"Amon…" Jim whispered before looking back at the other two. "Both of you stay here! He's too strong and you might be hurt. I'll go stop him."

"H-huh?! But what if he's d-dealin' with that H-Honest guy, don?" Kenzan questioned.

"Then Amon and I'll be the ones to deal with him. Stay here." Jim repeated.

Without another word, Jim ran into the storm and Kenzan hesitated before running after him.

"K-Kenzan!" Misawa shouted before sighing. "I guess w-we're really d-doing this."

He reluctantly chased after the other two.

The wind swirled even stronger around Amon and the temperature dropped to the point ice formed in the air. Asuka and Rei felt practically frozen and could only manage to keep themselves in place by holding onto each other. Ice gathered on Amon's lance, creating a long sharp icicle at the tip.

Just before he could thrust his lance forward, something tugged it back. Amon looked behind him to see a rope wrapped around the body of his lance. He immediately recognized who it belonged to.

"Amon! Stop!"

He heard Jim's voice off in the distance. Amon only cursed himself for not getting things over with quicker. Of course Jim just had to find him in time to try convincing him to ask questions first and fight later. He couldn't let the Go-Home Club have a chance to retaliate. He needed to finish them off.

Amon yanked his lance forward, fighting against the tug from Jim's lasso. He could feel Jim pull it back again and yanked it a second time. They weren't going to get anywhere at the rate they were fighting.

"Amon!! This was a s-" The wind was too strong, making Amon unable to hear everything Jim was trying to say. "They're not-"

"Let… go!" Amon shouted as he pulled on his lance again.

A strong gust of wind pushed against Jim, but he refused to release his grip. He could tell Amon was fighting him. He needed to get closer. Another pair of hands suddenly grabbed the rope and Jim looked over to see Kenzan.

"I told you-"

"I don't take orders from anyone 'cept Aniki, uh, and maybe Rei-chan!" Kenzan cut him off.

"We'll hold him down. You go stop him." Misawa added as he also gripped onto the rope.

Jim looked from Kenzan to Misawa before nodding. The moment Jim let one hand go to pull himself forward along the rope, Kenzan and Misawa realized how strong Amon was. Even despite the both of them holding him in place, it still felt like they were fighting against a huge monster. What exactly was going on at the other end?

Jim slowly walked closer to Amon, the strong wind making it harder with each step. Amon tugged his lance again, causing Jim to stumble a bit.

"Amon, stop! We've all been set up! The Go-Home Club's innocent!" Jim shouted, but got no response. "The real rats are the Society of Light!!"

And then the wind stopped.

As it evaporated into nothingness in mere seconds, Jim realized he was just a couple feet away from Amon. Both Elites just stared at each other, Jim in disbelief at the hint of surprise on Amon's face.

"What did you say?" Amon quietly asked.

"Th-the Society of Light… There's someone named Honest here who's one of them. They pretended to be the Go-Home Club to us, and pretended to be us to the Go-Home Club. They're trying to pit us against each other." Jim explained.

Amon looked back at Asuka and Rei, who had both dropped to their knees. His lance disappeared from his hand, making Kenzan and Misawa fall back onto the ground before Jim's lasso disappeared as well.

"How do you know?" Amon questioned as he turned back to Jim.

"One of 'em was confronted by him." Jim answered. "And, doesn't it make sense? They don't know anything about Johan's kidnapping. They're looking for two girls that we supposedly took, but you know we didn't do anything like that. They also said we left a note, but no one did that. Not them, not us. We've been tricked."

Amon took a moment to process it all. It did make sense, but Jim was so trusting of everything that Amon couldn't just take his word for it. So far he had no concrete proof.

Both pairs of club members finally got to their feet. Rei was first to spot the boys and took a step forward, but Asuka grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Kenzan!!" She called out.

Kenzan looked over and finally saw her, the other two noticing each other as well.

"Rei-chan!" He shouted back.

Rei yanked her hand out of Asuka's grasp and the two ran at one another. Rei jumped up and Kenzan caught her in his arms, spinning them both around a bit.

"You're okay!" Kenzan cheered.

"Course I am! And so are you!" Rei responded.

The others watched as the duo smiled and hugged each other. Amon simply sighed. There was no way they were the same people that took Johan. That much was evident.

"Are you both alright?" Misawa asked as he approached Asuka.

"We are now. Glad to see you two again, but we're still missing four others, then Junko and Momoe." Asuka said.

"Six. Can't forget O'Brien and Johan!" Jim added.

Asuka looked at the two Elites, a slightly hesitant look on her face. "You said… we were tricked."

"Right. Asuka, listen." Misawa started. "We were able to piece it together. A third party, the Society of Light, took Junko and Momoe and left that note. They also took Johan and left the Elites a note. They clearly wanted us both to come here and fight each other to get us out of the way. In actuality, none of us did anything to each other. We're not enemies. The Society of Light is the enemy."

"O…kay, but then… how did they know we were at Landmark Tower?" Asuka questioned.

Rei jumped down from Kenzan's grasp. "Hey, yeah! These society guys had to have been there to take Junko-senpai and Momoe-senpai! So did they follow us there or somethin'?"

Asuka tensed up and gripped at her arm.

"Hm… could we have been followed?" Misawa wondered.

"Or you have a rat among you." Amon stated. "Can anyone vouch for these two girls?"

Asuka glared at him. "Are you really insinuating Junko and Momoe are spies? They've been my friends since they came here. I'm with them every single day. They've been a part of this since we started the club yesterday. To assume they would betray us to an enemy we didn't even know about is-... Ugh, just who hell do you think you are?! Can anyone vouch for Johan?! Can you even vouch for yourself?"

Amon stepped closer to Asuka, their faces dangerously close to each other despite the height difference between them.

"All I'm saying is that you have to consider the possibility. To assume it's impossible based on mere trust is nothing short of naive and that's not something we can afford to be in this situation. This goes far deeper than you realize." Amon said in a calm tone, but the look in his eyes revealed the annoyance he was feeling just below the surface.

"Then why don't you explain how deep this goes? Who is this Society of Light? Why are they pitting us against each other? What do they have to gain from it?" Asuka interrogated him.

Amon was silent for a moment before turning around and walking off to the side.

"Uh, s-sorry about him. He's always like that." Jim apologized. "But, there's not much more we know. Things've only started getting weird around here just a week ago."

"So we're all in the dark here, don…" Kenzan muttered.

"We should go back to looking for the others though." Misawa suggested. "Once we're all together then we can share more information and put more pieces of this puzzle together."

Asuka sighed and calmed her nerves. "You're right, you're right."

"Ah, but first things first! Ladies, I'm gonna need to see your flowers!" Jim announced.

Asuka and Rei just stared at him, not quite processing what he was requesting.

"Does that mean something that I'm gonna hafta rip your other eye out for?" Rei threatened with an innocent smile on her face as she popped her knuckles.

Jim yelped and backed up.

"Wait, wait, wait! Rei-chan, he means the flowers on the spike, saurus!" Kenzan frantically explained and pointed to his chest.

"He just wants to keep track of who has what flower is all." Misawa nervously added.

"Ohhh! Well, good. If not then we were boutta be down another Elite." Rei said, suddenly switching back to her usual self.

Jim let out a nervous chuckle and approached Asuka. "I'll just… start with Tomorrow Girl here."

Asuka raised a brow at what she assumed was Jim's nickname for her. She'd heard before that he tended to give nicknames to people, but she never expected to end up being one of them. Jim leaned down just a bit to get a better look at the flowers around her spike.

"Why do we have flowers coming out of us anyway?" Asuka asked.

"Hippeastrum!" Jim exclaimed before backing away. "Oh, hm? I dunno. Anyway, they're native to the tropics of the Americas."

"He's one of the Elites and even he doesn't know?" Rei grumbled and Kenzan just shrugged his shoulders.

Asuka looked down at her flowers. "Wait… Okay, you probably know more than me, but I thought this was an amaryllis."

"Technically. That's what they're called, but that thing is neither a belladonna nor a paradisicola. Trust me, we call those things Easter lilies back home and that is not an Easter lily." Jim explained.

The four club members shared a look with each other.

"You got any idea what he said, saurus?" Kenzan asked Misawa.

"He's just naming different flower species." Misawa answered.

Jim huffed and pouted at the club members. At least O'Brien and Johan usually appreciated his fun facts, but they weren't there at the moment.

"Well, you don't need to use your big words to tell me about mine." Rei said. "I already know they're chrysanthemums."

"I can see that from here." Jim responded, not exactly wanting to get close to Rei anyway. "Back home it's a tradition to give white ones to your mom on Mother's day."

Amon glanced back at Jim. "If you're done with your botany class, we should find the others now."

"I know, I know. And you're gonna be nice now, right?" Jim replied.

Without giving a response, Amon just started to walk away.

Jim sighed. "Alright, I guess we're followin' his lead."

As Jim started to follow after Amon, the club members walked behind him. He glanced over his shoulder at them and couldn't help but think of them as ducklings. Even if Amon was going to give everyone the cold shoulder, at least Jim would lead them until their club was back together. And he'd make sure to keep them safe, even if they did have Catharsis Effects of their own.

Two of them couldn't even stand a chance against Amon and Jim was only caught by surprise. He wasn't actually trying to fight anyone like Amon anyway. Jim wasn't even sure if he would have been able to stop Amon if he didn't learn the truth from Misawa. Amon really intended to pull out all the stops before Jim intervened.

O'Brien wasn't nearly as harsh as Amon, but Jim still grew worried that O'Brien might end up doing some real harm to any club members he ran into. They just had to find him next. The more people that knew they'd been tricked, the better.

O'Brien himself was still wandering the halls of the library alone. He managed to find his way out of the west wing, but everything was so turned around that he wasn't able to realize it. He wasn't really one for going to the library anyway, at least not unless it was related to Elite business.

Thankfully it was quiet though, which he much preferred over the constant noise in the school. But that only made the small creaks of the library all the more obvious. Every little rustle on the floor from his footsteps made him feel like someone was following right behind him. O'Brien was certain it was just his own nerves getting to him, so he forced himself to keep his head forward. He didn't need to start siking himself out.

He couldn't understand it though. He always liked solitude. He could handle himself better when he didn't need to fumble his way through twenty different social interactions in a row, even if it was with people that he grew accustomed to.

Did he… miss the others?

He had to admit that knowing Johan was being held captive made O'Brien worry for his safety. And now that he was separated from Jim and Amon, at the very least he missed Jim a bit. The taller teen had a bad habit of taking things too lightly when he shouldn't, but O'Brien did recognize that it was Jim's way of trying to help. And Amon was always capable of keeping them on track with what they needed to focus on. Jim and Johan's usual antics were occasionally entertaining too.

O'Brien always considered himself a loner, but now he missed the three people that he spent everyday for the past six years with. They had never been forcibly separated like they currently were before.

O'Brien finally recognized that they had changed him. He hated trying to find the right way to be social with others, but then he fell into a normal routine with the other three. Now he couldn't go back to his old ways, even when he was forced to.

He needed someone there to watch his back. He needed to know he had a trusted ally by his side. He needed his friends. But he was all alone.

O'Brien came to a staircase that led to the floor above and stopped. He wasn't sure if it was worth it to head up or not. It didn't seem very likely that either of the others would have already gone up so he didn't want to get further away from them, but there was still a chance that one of them might have anyway. At the very least he wasn't close enough to either of them to sense them, and he hadn't picked up on that other power source again aside from when they were at the entrance.

After some thinking, O'Brien felt like the stairs were a good place to wait, but with the layout of the library being different, he doubted anyone else knew where they were. He decided he would continue looking around the first floor and just keep a mental map of where he went from the stairs so they could come back to them once the trio was reunited.

A light creak in the floor made O'Brien tense up. He was standing still, so what caused the floor to creak?

Not too far down the hall, Manjoume and Sho turned the corner together.

"The library hasn't always been this big, has it?" Sho wondered.

"We might be walking in circles." Manjoume suggested.

Sho tensed up. "Well then shouldn't we do something about that? We could, uh… stack books at the corners so we know where we've been!"

"Hmm… that's not a bad idea actually. Grab some books then. We'll stack 'em at the next corner." Manjoume decided.

Sho walked over to one of the shelves and stacked a few books together in his arms. Manjoume waited for him before they both kept going to the end of the hall. Once they reached the corner, they both stopped and Sho began placing the books down one by one.

"We should probably make it really tall so it stands out to the others if they pass by it." Manjoume said as he turned around to pull more books off the shelf behind him.

"In that case it should look like we made it on purpose. If it looks natural then no one'll question it." Sho added.

He crouched down and spread the books out so he could start over. He picked one up and opened it in the middle to prop it up before placing another one horizontally on top of it. After putting down another book, Sho heard a click. His hands froze and he realized there were a pair of legs on the other side of the stack he was making. It looked like the school uniform pants and shoes and his first thought was that Manjoume walked up without him noticing, but that answer was quickly proven wrong.

At the sound of the click, Manjoume turned around to check on Sho. He dropped the book in his hand when his silver eyes landed on O'Brien standing in front of Sho, an oversized revolver pointed at the shorter teen's head. Manjoume knew right away that it was a Catharsis Effect. He could see the spike in O'Brien's chest surrounded by king protea flowers.

"Neither of you move, got it?" O'Brien ordered.

Sho lifted his head up just a bit to look up at O'Brien, finally seeing the gun pointed at him. Fear set in and Sho's hands started shaking. Sure, injuries hurt less in Mobius, but Sho didn't want to know what it felt like to get shot in the head. He really wanted Judai to show up and save him. Even if Manjoume was already there to try, it wasn't who Sho wanted. He wanted Judai.

O'Brien's eyes glanced down at Sho, getting a look at the boy's face. He recognized Sho as the student that was hiding behind Judai yesterday morning. O'Brien felt himself freeze up when he realized how terrified Sho's face looked. He was used to dealing with Digiheads, not people that were fully in control of themselves. He'd never seen an expression like that before, and he was the one causing it. Sho's prescence proved Judai had to be somewhere in the library, but could someone who looked so scared really be their enemy?

"Where's Judai?" O'Brien questioned.

"A-Aniki…?" Sho mumbled. "I… don't know…"

O'Brien scowled at him, making Sho tense up even more. Did he really not know? Did he even know where Johan was? Did he have a single clue about what was going on around him?

With O'Brien focused on Sho, Manjoume slowly moved his arms until they were behind his body. He summoned his daggers in his hands, but kept them behind his back so O'Brien wouldn't see them. He needed to plan his movements carefully if he was going to take on one of Mobius's Elites. Sho was in danger too, and Manjoume didn't want to make a mistake that would get the teen slaughtered.

With a swift flick of his wrist, Manjoume threw one of his daggers forward, but O'Brien quickly shot it, striking the blade perfectly. Sho flinched at the sound and covered his head with his hands. Manjoume charged at O'Brien and jumped up with his other dagger brandished in his hand. He swung it down on O'Brien, but the Elite stopped it with the back of his empty hand, revealing a pitch black glove over his left hand. Manjoume's dagger that was lying on the floor disappeared and rematerialized in his other hand, slashing it at O'Brien's arm. A shot rang out in retaliation and they both jumped back from each other, but not before O'Brien grabbed Sho's jacket collar, taking the shorter boy with him.

Manjoume fell back to sit on the floor, panting as he gripped at his shoulder. He pulled his hand away a bit to find loose flower petals on his jacket, just under a bullet hole in his shoulder. He winced and gripped at it again. It definitely hurt, but it wasn't overbearing at all. It was more like a really bad stinging pain, so he could deal with it until it healed in a few minutes.

O'Brien looked down at his arm. Flower petals slipped off the cut in his sleeve and dropped to the floor. One simple wound wouldn't slow him down, but Sho squirming around in his grasp like a rabid animal might.

"Let go!! Let go of meee!! Aaahh, Anikiii!!" Sho screamed as he tried to pull himself away.

O'Brien picked Sho up and wrapped an arm around his waist to hold onto him. He desperately flailed his legs around, but it wasn't helping him at all. O'Brien was far too strong for Sho to do anything. O'Brien held his gun against Sho's head again and Sho whimpered, causing black static to crackle around his shoulders.

"I told you not to move." O'Brien said.

"Yeah, well I'm not really one for taking orders from anyone. Especially not people that piss me off." Manjoume practically hissed at him.

"So you'll just let your friend here get hurt?" O'Brien responded.

"Oh, like you really got the balls to shoot a defenseless little kid point blank in the face." Manjoume taunted as he picked his daggers back up and got back on his feet.

Sho whimpered again at being called a little kid, but couldn't form the words to express his annoyance. O'Brien just glanced at Sho. He couldn't tell if Manjoume was trying to throw him off or not. Shooting Sho wasn't something he was going to do so easily. There was a chance Sho would be fine since they were in Mobius, but since it was the head he was aiming at, it was entirely possible he would end up killing Sho.

Not only did O'Brien not want to murder someone when he was tasked with being a protector of Mobius, but he only planned to use Sho as leverage to keep both of them under control. Manjoume was making it difficult though. He wasn't listening, nor was he taking O'Brien seriously. Since things weren't going O'Brien's way, keeping Sho hostage wasn't a viable option anymore. He wouldn't kill someone that he needed information from. Hell, he wouldn't kill anyone at all. He knew he wasn't that kind of person. He had to keep his promise to the goddess, but he had to save Johan too. He needed to figure out how to get Manjoume to listen to him.

"Look, I won't hurt him at all if you just tell me what you've done with Johan." O'Brien said.

"Somethin' happen to Johan, huh? Well that's what you bastards get for takin' Tenjoin-kun's friends!" Manjoume responded.

O'Brien raised a brow at Manjoume's accusation. "Tenjoin… Asuka? What are you claiming?"

"Don't play stupid! You guys were at Landmark Tower! You took Junko and Momoe!" Manjoume shouted.

O'Brien scoffed. "We didn't take anyone. We didn't even run into anyone at Landmark Tower."

"That's bull-fuckin'-shit and you know it!" Manjoume exclaimed.

Without giving O'Brien a chance to respond, Manjoume threw one of his daggers at the Elite again. A barrier formed around O'Brien, making the dagger bounce off and up into the air. In a spark of electricity, Manjoume moved faster than O'Brien and Sho's eyes could keep up with. He teleported to his dagger and grabbed hold of it before launching the other one at O'Brien again. Just as the time on his barrier ran out, O'Brien shot a spray of bullets at the ground. Rising up from them was a wall of fire. Manjoume's dagger flew through the fire and the Elite narrowly dodged it, only suffering a minor cut on his cheek. Just before it pierced the floor behind O'Brien, Manjoume teleported to it, completely avoiding O'Brien's line of defense.

Realizing Manjoume was behind him, O'Brien quickly turned around. Manjoume charged at O'Brien as electric sparks from his dagger shocked his fingers every so slightly. O'Brien pointed his gun at Manjoume and a shot rang out. Manjoume was knocked back and fell to the floor, lying there motionless.

O'Brien and Sho just stared at him with wide eyes. He didn't move, he didn't make a sound, he just laid there. O'Brien's hands shook until his Catharsis Effect disappeared and he dropped Sho on the floor. The fire behind them faded away.

"M-Manjoume…?" Sho quietly called out in a shaky voice.

There was no response.

Sho crawled up to him and sat beside him. Manjoume's eyes were closed and there was a bullet hole in his head. Flower petals were scattered around his head and a few were caught in his hair. Sho gently nudged his arm.

"H-hey… M-Manjoume… Wake up, okay? P-please wake up." Sho begged as tears filled his eyes and the static around his shoulders grew thicker.

Manjoume didn't budge.

"We-... We gotta find Aniki… M-Manjoume… Please… w-wake up…"

The tears poured from Sho's eyes and he gripped onto Manjoume's arm like his life depended on it. They were supposed to regroup with everyone and find Junko and Momoe. Manjoume had to get home. He was supposed to go home, not die. They made up with each other. They were supposed to become friends. Manjoume accepted who he was. He swore to go home and confront his brothers. And now, none of that would happen.

Sho felt so useless. If Manjoume had gotten stuck with anyone else then he wouldn't have gotten killed. Sho didn't have a Catharsis Effect. He couldn't even stop himself from getting taken hostage. Manjoume had to fight O'Brien all on his own and try to rescue Sho. There was so much Sho could have tried to do, but he was just too much of a coward and a weakling. He really was only a burden, just like he had been all his life.

The sound of footsteps running closer made Sho look over down the hall. From around the corner appeared the rest of the Go-Home Club. Judai and Mizuchi were still missing though, but Jim and Amon were with them. Both Sho and O'Brien tensed up at the sight of them all. What were either of them supposed to say? And why were they all together in the first place?

"Sho! Manjoume-kun!" Asuka called out, being the first to run up to them.

"Marufuji-senpai!!" Kenzan exclaimed with a big smile on his face.

Kenzan and Rei made their way to Sho's side, Kenzan wrapping his arms around Sho. The shorter teen only grabbed hold of Kenzan's arm and let out a sob. They both finally realized something wasn't right and Rei put a hand on Sho's shoulder.

"Is- Is Manjoume okay? What happened to him?" Misawa questioned.

He joined Asuka to crouch down next to Manjoume. Asuka gently placed a hand on Manjoume's cheek, trying to process the state that both he and Sho were in.

Jim and Amon ran past them to approach O'Brien. Amon stopped halfway and noticed the wide, distant look in O'Brien's eyes. He glanced back at Manjoume, piecing things together in his head.

"O'Brien!! You're okay!! I missed you so much!" Jim yelled.

He threw his arms up and tackled a frozen O'Brien to the ground, making the shorter teen come to his senses.

"O'Brien, listen! There's been a set up by the Society of Light! They took Johan and two of the club's members and made us all think it was each other! They didn't do-"

"Jim, stop!" O'Brien shouted and put his hands on Jim's shoulders to push the taller man away.

Jim finally noticed the look on O'Brien's face. He'd only seen that expression once before when O'Brien had a breakdown long ago. O'Brien looked so horrified. Jim looked at Amon, who glanced between both parties. He could see the club was starting to understand what happened to Manjoume.

"We're too late." Was all Amon said.

Jim looked back at O'Brien. He could feel O'Brien's hands shaking and his heart dropped.

"O-O'Brien… You- You didn't mean to, right?" Jim hesitantly asked.

O'Brien could only look away and slowly shake his head. He didn't mean to. He knew he didn't want to kill anyone. He wasn't trying to. He just pointed and shot. But that still got Manjoume killed anyway.

Amon stepped closer to the two of them and Jim sat up before getting to his feet. He reached a hand out, but O'Brien didn't take it.

"Did you hear what Jim said?" Amon questioned, but received no response. "We were all tricked. There's someone here named Honest that set this all up. He's with a group called the Society of Light. They took Johan and some girls from the Go-Home Club. The club is innocent."

O'Brien wanted to die. It was a misunderstanding. Manjoume… was innocent. O'Brien killed someone that didn't do anything wrong. One of the very people he promised to protect. How could he be worthy of the goddess's power when he broke his promise to her? How could he ever face his parents again? He was now not only almost responsible for someone's death, he actively caused it.

"W-what happens… if you die in Mobius…?" Rei nervously asked.

"He can't- He can't really be dead, can he, don?" Kenzan questioned.

"What are we… going to tell Judai?" Misawa muttered.

Asuka grabbed Manjoume's hand, gripping it so tightly that she felt her own hand hurt. She needed to hold herself back. She already dealt with too much pain for one day. Sho's crying was so loud that it was drowning out her own thoughts. Fubuki refused to join them, Junko and Momoe were stolen from them, Judai and Mizuchi were still unaccounted for, and now Manjoume was dead. Everything was falling apart.

Was it because Judai came to Mobius? It all happened because he got the club together. But the club would never have formed if Asuka didn't approach him yesterday. Was she trying to blame Judai? She desperately wanted someone to be mad at. She had so much building up all day and it was beginning to eat away at her. Why wasn't she trying to blame O'Brien? He was the one that actually killed Manjoume. But it was more than that. Manjoume dying was the final straw.

They never should have formed the Go-Home Club. It was the start of everything going wrong. Judai wasn't directly to blame. Neither was O'Brien. Nor Honest. Forming the club was what got them targeted. It led them where they were now. Everything culminated into the harsh reality they were now forced to face. They had no idea the path they were all going down to cheat the system of Mobius would turn down such a dark alley. They made the worst mistake possible.

Tears welled up in Asuka's eyes and she leaned forward. Manjoume almost looked peaceful. The bullet wound in his head had healed, but it wasn't like that would do him any good now. A tear fell from Asuka's eye and landed on Manjoume's jacket. She couldn't keep it back any longer, but she still tried. Her grip on Manjoume's hand tightened even further.

And then she felt his fingers twitch.

Asuka froze and her eyes widened. Was it just a muscle reflex because she was squeezing his hand so tight? She looked at his face and his brow twitched as well. She suddenly let go of his hand and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him.

"Manjoume-kun! Wake up! Please! Manjoume-kun!" Asuka screamed through her tears.

Sho cried louder and hid his face against Kenzan's chest. Rei covered her ears and clenched her eyes shut. Kenzan just looked away and pulled the other two closer to him. They were clearly relying on him, so he had to be strong for their sake, but he just felt so useless. Once again, he couldn't help anyone.

Misawa grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back. "Asuka, stop! He's gone!"

"No he's not!! He's not! I know it!" Asuka shouted.

Jim and Amon shared a look with each other. Was there anything they could do? Amon wasn't about to get involved in their business, but Jim just felt so weird about standing there watching them all breakdown. Jim looked back to O'Brien, who had sat up at some point, but he kept his head down.

"Please, Manjoume-kun, we need you! You're one of us! You're a member of the Go-Home Club! I-" Asuka choked for a moment. "I know you're alive! Please, open your eyes!"

Manjoume let out a groan, making everyone freeze as they stared at him. In an instant they all loomed over him in disbelief.

"Manjoume!"

"Manjoume-senpai!"

"M-Manjoume-kun!!"

He could hear them. It was faint, but he knew they were calling out to him. He just barely regained consciousness, but he had to return to them. He had to get back to his club - to his friends.

Manjoume's eyes slowly opened a bit, but everything was blurry. His vision took a moment to straighten out before he could make sense of what he was looking at. He started to recognize faces, then he realized everyone was crowded around him. Where did they all come from? Last he remembered it was just him and Sho against O'Brien.

"Ugh, T-Tenjoin-kun…? Sho? E-Everyone?" Manjoume struggled to mumble out.

They all smiled at him with tear filled eyes.

"You're okay, Manjoume!" Sho cheered, trying to sound happy despite the condition he was still in.

"You're not dead!" Rei exclaimed.

"We thought we lost ya there, saurus." Kenzan said.

"Glad to have you back, Manjoume." Misawa told him, wiping the tears from his own eyes.

"D-Don't _ever_ scare us like that again!" Asuka angrily shouted before gripping at her arms and sobbing.

Manjoume's eyes widened and he tried to sit up, startling everyone. Kenzan put a hand behind his back to help him up. A few of the flower petals in his hair fell to the floor.

"T-Tenjoin-kun… Please…" Manjoume slowly reached a hand up and placed it over her's, gripping it as tightly as he could. "Please don't cry over me. I'm not worth… seeing such a beautiful girl cry for."

Asuka looked up at him through the tears in her eyes to see the small smile on his face. Even at a time like that he just had to be focused on his own feelings. Couldn't he consider other people's feelings for once in his life?

"Oh will you _shut up_!" Asuka cried.

She suddenly put her arms around him and hugged him, hiding her face in his neck as she continued to cry. Manjoume struggled to keep himself up, but just sighed and put a hand on her back.

"So… what'd I miss…?" Manjoume asked.

Everyone relaxed a bit, relieved to know that Manjoume was going to be just fine.

"There's a man here named Honest that belongs to a group called the Society of Light. They took Junko and Momoe and pretended to be the Elites, while they took Johan from the Elites and pretended to be us. They intended to make us turn on each other." Misawa explained.

Manjoume's expression turned serious as he processed it all. He looked up to see Jim and Amon standing not too far away, with O'Brien sitting on the floor. He didn't know… and neither did O'Brien.

Jim glanced at Amon, who looked back at him out of the corner of his eye before they both turned to face O'Brien. Jim crouched down beside O'Brien and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He's alive, O'Brien. You didn't kill him." Jim told him.

"A wound like that very well could have, but we got lucky. He must have just been knocked out by it and it needed to heal first." Amon said.

O'Brien still didn't say anything. Jim had to wonder if he could even hear them. He leaned forward to get in O'Brien's view. His golden eyes seemed so hollow. Just how badly did thinking he killed Manjoume affect him? Jim knew such a thing was a sore spot for O'Brien, but he wasn't aware of how deeply it went.

Manjoume looked back to Asuka, feeling bad as he nudged her away. She looked up at him before wiping her eyes and trying to recompose herself.

"I'm sorry, I gotta- I need to- Ugh… Someone help me up." Manjoume requested.

Misawa stood up and held a hand out for Manjoume to take, helping him to his feet. He felt dizzy for a second before he regained his balance. Kenzan stood up as well and helped Sho and Rei stand up. Manjoume turned around and reached a hand out to Asuka, who took it and pulled herself up.

Manjoume then walked up to the Elites, stopping as Jim and Amon looked over at him. Jim stood up and stepped back, Manjoume taking it as a form of permission to approach O'Brien. He stood in front of the Elite and held a hand out. O'Brien's eyes looked up at him.

"We, uh…" Manjoume struggled to find where to start. "We both fucked up. We fell right into their trap, but… we won't let them trick us again. We're not enemies, O'Brien. And there's, uh… there's no hard feelings for the whole, 'shooting me in the face' thing. I refused to listen, so it's kinda… on me a bit. Let's just start over. We gotta work together now, right?"

O'Brien stared at Manjoume's hand. He was alive. O'Brien wasn't a murderer. It was still hard to just throw away all the turmoil he felt so suddenly over it. His whole world was shattered, then restored, in the matter of a few minutes. But Manjoume was alive. He was perfectly okay, and he forgave O'Brien. They could just put it behind them, but that was easier said than done for O'Brien.

Twice now O'Brien felt like he was responsible for someone's death. The first time only ended in him coming to Mobius, but he could move past the second one. Manjoume was aware of the mistake and wanted to make things right between them. If that was possible with Manjoume, then perhaps… there really was a chance to fix the first one.

O'Brien nodded and grabbed Manjoume's hand. "Yeah, the Go-Home Club and us Elites… _together._ "

It was harder than Manjoume expected to pull O'Brien up, but thankfully he mostly got up by himself. Manjoume didn't exactly think it through that a lanky guy like himself wouldn't be able to pull up someone as muscular as O'Brien. As they let go of each others' hands, Jim slung his arms over their shoulders with a happy-go-lucky smile on his face.

"We're all friends now!" He cheered. "So, who's left to find aside from Johan?"

"Other than the girls, just Aniki and Mizuchi-senpai, saurus." Kenzan said as he and the rest of the club walked up to them.

Jim nodded. "M'kay, once we find 'em, then we figure out how to confront this Honest guy."

"He's probably keeping Johan and those girls with him." Amon suggested.

"Then knowing Judai, I'd advise we skip right to looking for Honest. I'm sure we'll run into him and Mizuchi on the way." Misawa said.

"Oh, so Judai _is_ with you all." Amon commented.

"Yeah, why? You got a bone to pick with Judai-sama?" Rei interrogated.

Amon glanced at her and crossed his arms. "That depends on a lot of things."

His response managed to unnerve Rei a bit. What kind of things did Amon mean? Did they know something about Judai that the club didn't?

"We'll save that for later after we get everyone back and outta here." O'Brien said. "For now going up should be our goal."

"Up? But I haven't seen any stairs at all." Asuka said.

"There's actually some back where I was earlier. I wanted to find you guys first though." O'Brien glanced at Jim and Amon as he spoke, but only Jim smiled in response. "I suppose all things considered, it's a good thing I waited to go up."

"Then we go together, find Judai and Mizuchi on the way, and kick this Honest guy's ass to get our friends back." Manjoume announced.

O'Brien stared at him for a moment. There was such a smug grin on Manjoume's face, but it only seemed fitting since the entire club was standing behind him wearing determined expressions of their own. O'Brien didn't know where the Go-Home Club - the real one - came from, but they certainly were a group of overly idealistic kids. Perhaps Judai's nature rubbed off on each of them in its own way. O'Brien had to admit he was eager to see what the club was like when they actually had Judai with them.

"Let's get a move on then, kiddos!" Jim exclaimed.

"You say kiddos like you're much older than us." Manjoume remarked.

"Well, I'm sure as the oldest Elite that would probably be the case." Jim responded.

"Oh, so you're an old man then, huh? That suddenly makes your personality super duper creepy!" Rei commented in an accusatory tone.

"Hey, I am _not_ an old man! And just what are ya tryin' to imply?!" Jim denied.

"Well, you do like girly things." Amon noted as he turned and began to walk away.

Jim gasped. "It's for my _sister_ , Amon!! You know that!"

"For how much you talk about your sister, you still can't prove she's real." Amon said from down the hall.

Jim quickly chased after him. "And you can't prove your little brother is re- ack! O'Brieeeen!!"

O'Brien just sighed before following after them. "Amon, I swear if you hurt him _again_ -"

"He can't prove anything." Amon stated, eliciting a whine from Jim.

The Go-Home Club just looked on as Rei laughed at the exchange.

"They seem like a family, don't they? If not, a strange one." Misawa commented.

"If they're a family then what's that make us?" Manjoume questioned.

"We're all a family too, right?!" Rei exclaimed.

Manjoume turned around to face everyone. Even if the whole club wasn't back together yet, Manjoume still got a sense that Rei was right. They could all be a family. He didn't need to consider his brothers as his family just because they were related. His family could be the Go-Home Club if that was what he wanted. They could all consider each other family.

"I… I think it'd be… nice." Sho finally spoke up, albeit in a hushed tone.

Kenzan put his arms around Rei and Sho. "Yeah, we're one big emotionally messed up family, don!"

Misawa sighed. "As _not good_ as that sounds, I think most families are like that."

Asuka suddenly reached out and hugged Manjoume, making him tense up and confusing everyone else.

"And families don't break up. They don't leave each other behind, no matter what." Asuka said.

Her words rang a little differently for Sho, but otherwise everyone agreed. Manjoume hesitantly put his arms around her as his face started to feel hot. Then Sho joined the hug as well, followed by Kenzan and Rei. Misawa remained still for a moment before being the last to complete the group hug. Manjoume's face burned up even more from being at the center of it. It was far too embarrassing. At least Judai wasn't there to make it worse.

But, he had to admit it was nice. They really thought he died. If he did die, they all would have been devastated. Manjoume had people that would miss him if he were gone now. Did anyone back home miss him? Did his brothers care in the slightest? Or did they only continue to worry about the company's reputation?

They didn't matter anymore though. Only Manjoume's new family did. And once they all returned to the real world together, then Manjoume would have people on the outside that would miss him. And he would make sure to never cause them to worry about him again. He would start taking care of himself, for them - his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear the longer I dragged Manjoume's 'death' out, the more and more of a dick I felt like. It just kept going and going! And then! My impulsive ADHD brain said 'hey, what if you cut the scene at the saddest possible moment then go to Judai and Mizuchi and end the chapter there?' AND MY DUMB ASS WAS LIKE 'HMMM... I _COULD_ DO THAT, YEEEES.' AAAAAAAHHHHH!
> 
> I'm so glad I didn't though. I think it wouldn't have been a problem in the case of being able to go right to the next chapter, but since in the moment of writing this, everyone would have to wait a week to find out he lives, it just wouldn't have been right. It might come off as completely pointless to kill him off and make someone drop the fic and not end up finding out the truth or people would get mad at me and all sorts of things. So, it was best to keep it in one chapter. Manjoume lives to see another day! ...For now...
> 
> So Jim, huh? He's just over here signing adoption papers with every new club member he collects. It also physically hurt me to make Misawa bash Jim in the head. Like, sir, that's my emotional support Australian.
> 
> And can you believe we went a whole chapter without Judai, the protagonist? Everyone's over there trying to kill each other and bonding and shit while Judai and Mizuchi are just off taking a walk in the park together, haha. Edo's just busy being incredibly lost too. Things just ran way too long in this chapter so I had to end it here. We'll get to them in the next one.


End file.
